Gravity director Cuaron confident in Chinese filmmakers

Director Alfonso Cuaron has expressed confidence that Chinese counterparts could make a movie like Gravity, his sci-fi blockbuster that was a particular hit in China.

"I think Chinese directors can also make movies like that. It's first of all, the curiosity. My curiosity led me to Gravity," the Mexican filmmaker said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Thursday at the ongoing Beijing International Film Festival.

Cuaron's seventh feature, Gravity has grossed a remarkable 500 million dollars worldwide since its U.S. premiere on October 4, 2013.

The film, released in China on November 19, follows a stranded U.S. astronaut who finds refuge in the Chinese space station Tiangong-1 and returns to Earth aboard the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou.

"I'm very happy that the film made a connection with Chinese audiences," Cuaron said. "The Chinese elements come from the screenplay. The facts are that, in space, there are American technologies, some European technology of course, and there are Russian technologies and then there are Chinese technologies."

According to the 52-year-old, "The big challenge was that we wanted to make the film look real, not like a fantasy or a comic book. We wanted the audience to be another astronaut floating in space and to investigate their own emotional world."

As for how to achieve a success like Gravity, he replied that the only way a director can win an Oscar is to focus on the integrity of their work.

"I don't think it's about words or box office, or that it's something you can calculate. You have to do the film that you really believe in," he said.

As the second-biggest film market in the world, China has many facets that allure this Oscar winner. "First, you have many, many audiences that love cinema and that's fantastic. Also, it speaks to the investors who create venues for people to watch cinema. But more important, it speaks for filmmakers who do films that connect with audiences," Cuaron said.

In his view, the Chinese film industry is strong enough to develop its own models, rather than follow others' lead. "The paradigm is to cooperate with Hollywood and that will make Chinese movies more global."