Chinese welcome 'Titanic,' open tour
Delegation kicks off retrospective at press conference
" 'Titanic' will be shown in Chinese cinemas and will be welcomed by Chinese audiences," said Zhao Shi, the Chinese vice minister of radio, film and TV, during a press conference at Columbia University Thursday.
About 20 American films were released theatrically in China last year, Zhao said, while only three films from mainland China were distributed in the U.S. "China has tried very hard to introduce American films to the Chinese public," she said. "But there is an obvious imbalance in the exchange."
Among those in the delegation were China Film Corp. prexy Tong Gang, Beijing Film Studio president Han San Ping and directors Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaoning.
The press conference was held to kick off a five-decade retrospective of Chinese film that begins todayand runs through Feb. 12 at the City Cinemas Village East Theater in New York. The tour, called "Celebration of Chinese Cinema," will also travel to Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal and Vancouver.
The most controversial offering is "Red River Valley," which chronicles an attack on Tibet by British troops in 1904. Now that the Chinese invasion of Tibet has been depicted in the recent studio films "Kundun" and "Seven Years in Tibet," some believe the Chinese want to capitalize on worldwide interest in Tibet while showing another side of the story.
"Red River" director Feng was grilled by reporters about his motives for making the film at the press conference, which was moderated by Columbia professors David Wang and Richard Pena, who is also program director for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Feng replied that his film was "based on a true story."
