Silver screen's ethnic sheen

A scene from the Sino-French production The Nightingale, which portrays the Dong ethnicity's lives and customs. Photo provided to China Daily.

International interest in films about non-Han Chinese may prove to be the solutionto that genre's struggles.

Western interest, more than domestic demand, is propelling the production of films about Chinese ethnicities, an industry insider says.

"The rising attention from mature Western markets is taking ethnic movies to new heights," Beijing Ethnic Film Festival founder and Beijing Ethnic Affairs Commission deputy director Niu Song says.

He points to director Li Ruijun's Where Is My Home, which will compete at next year's Venice International Film Festival after picking up two best-script awards at US and Dutch festivals earlier this year.

The story centers on two ethnic Yugur children in Gansu - Li's home province - who undergo a harrowing journey to find their father, whom they presume to be herding cattle, as Yugurs have for millennia. They're disappointed to find him instead in a stream panning for gold because this betrays their ideas imaginings of Dad as a horse-riding hero.

It's the first film about the Yugur group. The ethnicity's population of more than 14,000 live in Gansu and once dominated a 1,000-kilometer stretch of western China.

Currently, 21 of China's 56 ethnic groups don't have a film focused on them, Niu says.

He explains the low-budget Where Is My Home is part of a central government project to promote the cultures of the 106 million Chinese who aren't of the Han ethnicity that comprises more than 90 percent of the country's population.

The project has run for a year and aspires to feature each group in at least one movie in the coming five to 10 years.

Niu says ethnic flicks, such as Liu Sanjie and Five Golden Flowers, were popular in the 1950s.

But the film market's growth has pushed them out.

"Audiences are pickier, and the traditional production method is outdated," Niu says.

Under the antiquated system, directors get investments from State-owned film companies and don't take responsibility for ticket sales.

Niu says some veteran directors who've shot ethnic films for decades have changed their minds and seek to work within the new system dictated by producers and the market.

"Scripts are being amended to appeal to the public," he says.

"They focus on telling stories that are universal, rather than particular to one group."

While Where Is My Home is set among Yugur people, it reflects a global dilemma of development's transformation of ancient civilizations.

"The whole world can understand such themes," Niu says.

"They're beyond borders."

Another ethnic film to find acclaim by exploring such narratives is The Nightingale, which is vying for a best foreign-language film Oscar next year.

About 70 percent of the Sino-French production is set in picturesque areas of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The movie uses local languages in dialogues, and portrays the Dong ethnicity's lives and customs.

Niu calls The Nightingale a "success story" to inspire ethnic moviemakers.

"Most ethnic films are low-budget made with an average cost of 4 million yuan ($57,000)," he says.

"Small budgets limit image quality and special effects. International attention, especially from top directors, can bring capital."

Niu recalls a recent meeting with Yojiro Takita, the Japanese director of the 2009 foreign-language Oscar winner Departures.

"Takita is very interested in China's ethnic groups, which remain little-known to the world," he says.

The Treasure of Genghis Khan is a case in which foreign interest has coaxed investment. The Sino-US production announced an $80 million budget in September 2013.

The story about the Mongol empire's founder was shot in spring in the grasslands surrounding Hohhot, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's capital city.

The 3-D epic Loulan about the mysterious disappearance of the ancient city of Loulan is backed by a Singaporean investment of $39.3 million.

The tourism industry can also provide investment for ethnic films, insiders say.

Niu, who recently assumed the post of production director for Mosuo Sisters, says a travel group recently invested in the romance movie to promote the culture of the Mosuo branch of the Naxi ethnic group and the stunning natural sceneries among which they live.