First US China Film & TV Industry Expo to be held in LA

After various co-productions and deals, the relationship between China and the US in the TV and movie industry seems to be making headway with the launch of the US China Film & TV Industry (UCFTI) Expo, set to happen in March 2014 in Los Angeles.

In a press conference and launch ceremony last Thursday, Ernest Wooden Jr, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, said in an opening speech that, "We in Los Angeles have been watching the Chinese film market grow into the second largest in the world, [and now] it is the perfect time to develop stronger ties between Los Angeles and China."

Running from March 5 to 6, the expo will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, following right on the heels of the Academy Awards on March 2.

Zhou Yi, vice chairman of the expo's China organizing committee, noted that though this November, the 9th Chinese American Film Festival is about to take place, UCFTI is very different from other film festivals.

Not only will it have a film and TV series trading platform, which other film festivals also offer, but "a more important thing is to build a resource-integration platform for China-US movie TV cooperations, investment and distribution. To gather people of various fields in the industry together," Zhou explained to the media.

As one of the very first people to promote this expo, Bianca Chen, a Chinese filmmaker who has been working in the US for years, told the media in a group interview that while China needs the advanced technology from Hollywood, how to approach the audience in China is also a concern for many Hollywood filmmakers. That is how UCFTI is needed for both parties.

Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, also attended the ceremony. He said although it is important for national leaders to meet and discuss many issues that concern the two nations, "it is essential that we work on a people-to-people level," and he believes "there is much Los Angeles and our entertainment industry can learn form the second most significant entertainment industry in the world."