Asia Society Announces Full Speaker Lineup for 2017 U.S.-China Film Summit in Los Angeles, Nov. 1

2017 U.S.-China Film Summit

LOS ANGELES, October 24, 2017 — Asia Society Southern California today announced the full agenda for the eight annual U.S.-China Film Summit.

"Spotlight" speakers include Charles H. Rivkin, in his new role as CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Miao Xiaotian, president of the China Film Co-Production Corporation.

Asia Society Southern California will also host a gala dinner that evening honoring acclaimed filmmaker Feng Xiaogang, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson, and Bona Film Group founder, chairman and CEO Yu Dong.

The summit and the gala dinner will take place at the Skirball Cultural Center in Brentwood.

The current program agenda follows. Media interested in learning more or registering for the Summit should contact Juan Machado at Asia Society (jmachado@asiasociety.org).

The U.S.-China Film Summit is organized by Asia Society Southern California in cooperation with Beijing Film Academy and with the support of the Motion Picture Association of America, Producers Guild of America, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, USC U.S.-China Institute, and the Hong Kong Association of Southern California.

2017 U.S.-China Film Summit

Program Details and Agenda

(Note: All programming is subject to change. All times denoted in PDT)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

9:00 AM – Opening Remarks

  • Janet Yang, Chair, U.S.-China Film Summit
  • Jonathan Karp, Executive Director, Asia Society Southern California

9:10 AM – Spotlight: Charles H. Rivkin, CEO, Motion Picture Association of America, on Fostering U.S.-China Film Industry Relations

9:25 AM – The New Realities of Financing U.S.-China Entertainment

  • Charlie Coker, Managing Director, Dasym Media
  • Daniel Manwaring, Corporate Development, CAA
  • Bennett Pozil, Executive Vice President, East West Bank  
  • Steve Ransohoff, CEO, Film Finances
  • Lindsay Conner (moderator), Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

10:25 AM – High-Flying Franchises: What Makes a Film Work on Both Sides of the Pacific

  • Chris Bremble, Founder and CEO, Base Media
  • Rob Cohen, Director, The Fast and the Furious and xXx
  • Sam Hargrave, Action Director
  • Celina Jade, Actress, Star of Wolf Warrior II
  • Stephen Saltzman (moderator), Chair, Asia Entertainment and Media, Loeb & Loeb

11:20 AM – Independent Chinese and U.S. Films Find New Outlets and Backers

  • JIANG Yanming, CEO, China Lion Film
  • Michael Werner, Former CEO, Fortissimo
  • WU Man-fang, Dean, School of Management, Beijing Film Academy
  • ZHANG Yang, Director and Writer
  • Jonathan Landreth (moderator), Managing Editor, ChinaFile

12:10 PM – Lunch

12:55 PM – Spotlight: Donald Tang, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Tang Media Partners

1:30 PM – Spotlight: MIAO Xiaotian, President, China Film Co-Production Corporation on China’s Evolving Market for International Collaborations

In conversation with Seagull Song, Director, Asia-America Law Institute, Loyola Law School

1:50 PM – How Digital Content, Marketing and Distribution are Changing the Game

  • Shiraz Akmal, Co-Founder and CEO, Spaces
  • Kane Lee, Chief Content Officer, Baobab Studios
  • Catherine Zhang, Director, International Content Creation, Youku Tudou
  • Jonathan Perelman (moderator), Head of Digital, ICM Partners

2:40 PM – The Making of Innovative Partnerships

  • Ellen Eliasoph, President and CEO, Perfect Village Entertainment Group
  • Alexis Garcia, Partner, William Morris Endeavor
  • Jie LIAN, CEO, Perfect Word Pictures, and Chairman, Perfect Village 
  • Stacey Rosenberg (moderator), Partner, Hogan Lovells

3:45 PM – Spotlight: YU Dong, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Bona Film Group

4:05 PM – Studio Row: After Laying Foundations, Hollywood Players Fine-tune China Strategies

  • Elaine Chin, former executive, The Walt Disney Company, HBO
  • Tomas Jegeus, President, Fox International Productions
  • Wendy Reeds, Executive Vice President, Lionsgate
  • Gillian Zhao, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. China
  • Matt Pressberg (moderator), China and Film Business Reporter, The Wrap

5:00 PM –  Spotlight: FENG Xiaogang, Writer, Director and Actor, and Geling YAN, Novelist and Screenwriter

In conversation with Jonah Greenberg, President, Motion Pictures, CAA China

5:20 PM – Closing remarks

5:25 PM – Reception

GALA DINNER                                                  

6:00 PM – Gala Reception

7:15 PM – Gala Dinner

  • 2017 U.S.-China Film Industry Leadership Award:  YU Dong, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bona Film Group
  • 2017 U.S.-China Arts Visionary Award: Dawn Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award: FENG Xiaogang, Writer, Director and Actor

Emcee

  • Ludi Lin, Actor

Special Guests

  • Zhang Jingchu, Actor
  • Celina Jade, Actor
  • Xia LI, Former MTV China Host

About Asia Society

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution with major cultural centers in New York, Hong Kong, and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, DC, and Zurich.