Short movies to make TV debut overseas

Short movies from China are to make their debut on TV overseas in September, with thebroadcasting and online distribution rights for about 30 shorts bought by a British company.

The movies last for a total of 10 hours and will be shown in the United States, Europe and EastAfrica. It is the first time short films from China have been exported.

The country's short-movie producers are excited about entering overseas markets, and hopethis can help promote the art form at home, and speed up its industrialization.

The deal was signed on Friday between Shorts International — a short-movie entertainmentcompany with the world's largest catalogue dedicated to shorts, and vast partnerships withsatellite and cable TV networks worldwide — and Shenzhen Times Network Media, thecopyright agent for seven of the movies selected.

Carter Pilcher, CEO of Shorts International, said: "China is a powerhouse in the world, andpeople are eager to know about the country through its movies.

"People may not be patient enough to watch a long feature, but they will be interested inwatching a short one."

Pierre-Yves Lochon, CEO of Sinapses Asia, who coordinates selection and purchasing forShorts International, told China Daily that if audience feedback is positive, the buyer may makeit a long-term deal by purchasing the overseas telecast rights for about 10 Chinese shortmovies every year.

The seven Chinese shorts that Shorts International bought from Shenzhen Times NetworkMedia are among winners of the KingBonn Award at the China International (KingBonn) NewMedia Shorts Festival, the only State-recognized international short film award in China. Theaward celebrates its fourth anniversary this year and has attracted 30,031 entries from 94countries and regions.

The remaining short films that have been bought are either winners or nominees at filmfestivals in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, or come from independent producers.

Announcement of the deal preceded a four-day trade fair in short movies at the venue for theninth China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair.

Hu Liangming, general manager of Shenzhen Times Network Media, said he hopes theinternational deal can stimulate domestic transactions for Chinese shorts, which are stillstruggling to generate revenue.

In Western countries, short movies reach audiences through multiple distribution channels,including electronic sales on iTunes and Amazon, theater screenings, pay-TV channels andvideo on demand subscription. In China, people watch shorts online and free of charge in mostcases.

Zhu Xiangyang, chief content officer of Youku.com, which has the biggest share of thecountry's online video market, said, "Chinese people still think that they don't need to pay forinformation on the Internet." Zhu highlighted this root cause of Chinese new-media shorts'financial plight at a forum on Tuesday in Shenzhen, which formed part of the ChinaInternational (KingBonn) New Media Shorts Festival.

Chen Yan, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Copyright Society, said that to enhancecopyright protection the society has launched two platforms for copyright owners to have theirownership registered. This costs only 10 yuan ($1.60).

Merger wave

Zhu from Youku.com said while the production and broadcasting of short movies are separatedin Western countries, in China a trend has emerged for a video website to take on both roles.

A wave of mergers and acquisitions has swept video websites in China since last year,including the merger of Youku.com and Tudou.com and Baidu's purchase of the video sectionof Pps.tv to merge it with Iqiyi.com, Baidu's video brand, on May 7.

"These new website giants need to differentiate their affiliated brands," Zhu said.

However, even a platform as large as Youku.com has found it difficult to attract investment forthe production of short movies.

Zhu said Youku.com makes little profit from producing shorts or promoting users' shorts. Hedoesn't think it is realistic to rely on new media to invest in its self-made shorts in the long term.