Islamabad: China and Pakistan have decided to mark 2019 the ‘Year of Youth Exchange’, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said at the opening of a four-day Chinese Films Festival and Conference at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Wednesday.

Special committees comprising the Chinese Youth Federation and the new Pakistan Youth Council have been set up to organise events and promote relations through young people and cultural exchanges, he added.

Increased cooperation in culture and media is the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said, adding: “Film is a very important and effective medium famous among the young generation to translate and promote cultures, society and values.”

Four-day Chinese film festival opens at PNCA

The Chinese film industry is the biggest production house in the world after Hollywood, he added. He said the Chinese market has been opened to Pakistani movies that were bought and dubbed into Chinese and will be screened in the country this October.

Under the cultural protocol, both countries will also undertake joint film production.

PNCA Executive Director Jamal Shah said: “Cinema is a composite art which incorporates all mediums of art -- music, theatre, architecture, painting, acting -- to create magic.”

He added: “We need to diversify our screens, which are currently governed by Hollywood and Bollywood. We need to create space and initiate exchanges and co-production with Chinese, Turkish and Iranian cinemas to learn from their expertise and techniques. This will eventually find a niche in Chinese market and would like to see many Chinese films screened in Pakistan. That’s why we have engaged filmmakers from China and invited them to participate in the conference.”

Last year, a Chinese film was made in Pakistan for the first time. It followed a football team of Pakistani girls who want to inspire social change.

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the prime minister’s adviser on information, also spoke at the event. She emphasised the need to strengthen ties between China and Pakistan through cultural exchanges and joint film production.

At the end, a film depicting the first half of the 20th century in China, the role of the Chinese Community Party and Chairman Mao, titled The Founding of a Republic, was screened.

Inspired by true events, the feature-length film featured breathtaking cinematography, action and a star-studded cast. It began in 1945, after World War II, and chronicles the next four years up to Chiang Kai-shek’s escape to Taiwan and the formation of the People’s Republic of China.

The film festival is being organised by the Chinese Cultural Centre, in collaboration with the Chinese embassy, the Chinese Film Group Corporation and the China Film Archives in connection with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

A total of 10 films, including The Founding of a Republic, Brotherhood of Blades II, Ashima, The Taste of Rice Flower, Operation Mekong, Himalayas: Ladder to Paradise, The Grandmaster, The Knot, Deep in the Heart and City of Rock will be screened until July 6.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2019