Chinese Film Market: 2021 and Beyond
VIEW EVENT DETAILSIn 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, China became the world’s largest movie market for the first time and domestic films dominated the box office. China kicked off 2021 on January 1 with the highest grossing box-office day on record. In this context, China’s leading film company Huayi Brothers Media has announced an ambitious slate of new film projects across genres to be released by end-2021. As moviegoers head into Chinese New Year, both delayed 2020 blockbusters and new titles will be in fierce competition during the holiday release window with scarcely any U.S. Studio films in the mix. Can foreign imports regain a foothold in China after the global film industry recovers? Have Chinese consumer preferences shifted away from Western content in response to geopolitical trends or other factors beyond the pandemic?
Join Asia Society Southern California for a fireside chat with Huayi Brothers General Manager Josh Hu and Paul Hastings Partner and Asia and Europe Media & Entertainment Chair Stephen Saltzman as they discuss the current state of the Chinese film market and their perspectives on its future. For more background, be sure to watch our China-related programming from the 11th Annual U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit.
Speakers:
Josh Hu, currently serves as General Manager of Huayi Brothers International Limited.
Hu manages Huayi Brothers' overseas assets, developing in-depth cooperations in Hollywood and South Korea, overseeing acquisitions/co-financing, and international sales and distribution for Chinese-language films. His recent executive producer projects include the phenomenal Netflix action wonder Extraction, Russo Brothers' prestige film Cherry, and the first South Korean sci-fi project Space Sweepers.
Hu holds a Bachelor of Arts from Communication University of China and an MBA degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Stephen L. Saltzman has broad experience in domestic and international transactions in the entertainment industry. Named by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter as one of the entertainment industry’s top lawyers, he represents U.S., European, and Asian producers, production companies, studios, distribution companies, broadcasters, digital media companies, banks, film funds, directors and talent. Saltzman concentrates on innovative and complex international co-production and co-financing transactions. Fluent in German and Spanish, he uses his language skills and in-depth knowledge of both U.S. and non-U.S.-based film and television industries in representing the interests of international companies and individuals in Hollywood, as well as to participate as a featured speaker and panelist in seminars and symposiums in the U.S., Europe and Asia.