Asia Society Southern California Announces Full Slate of Speakers for Sixth Annual U.S.-China Film Summit | Asia Society

Asia Society Southern California Announces Full Slate of Speakers for Sixth Annual U.S.-China Film Summit

Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and Chief Executive Officer, IMAX Entertainment, to keynote; New panel added: The Future of Movie Going in China

LOS ANGELES, October 21, 2015 — Asia Society Southern California is pleased to announce the full line up of speakers for its Sixth Annual U.S.-China Film Summit and Gala Dinner on Thursday, November 5. This signature Asia Society Southern California event will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The festive Gala Dinner, at the same venue, begins with a reception at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 7:00 p.m.

The Summit has added Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President of IMAX Corp. and Chief Executive Officer of IMAX Entertainment, as a featured speaker. IMAX is a catalyst for film in China and its market impact continues to grow, with this year’s release of record-setting Chinese-language film Monster Hunt and the listing of IMAX China shares in Hong Kong. Foster will speak in conversation with Tom Nagorski, Executive Vice President of Asia Society.

Foster joins Michael Ellis, Asia Pacific President and Managing Director of the Motion Picture Association, as a keynote speaker. At lunch, the keynote will be Hou Guangming, Chairman of the Academy Council, Beijing Film Academy, who will receive the “Film Education Legacy Award” on behalf of the Academy. BFA is celebrating its 65th anniversary.

“IMAX’s technology is driving demand from filmmakers and film audiences alike, so we’re delighted Greg Foster will play a featured role at the Film Summit,” said Jonathan Karp, Executive Director of Asia Society Southern California. “Because technology is critical to sustaining growth in China, we also have a number of panelists who are developing cutting-edge film and online sales and marketing systems.”

To further address the role of technology, the Film Summit has added a fifth panel called The Future of Movie Going. It will examine a question on the mind of every studio executive and filmmaker: What will it take to keep up China’s box-office surge? Mobile apps are key.

The full panel line up is:

Frontiers in Content: New Players, New Avenues in U.S.-China Collaboration

Moderator: Janet Yang, Producer, Shanghai Calling and The Joy Luck Club

Speakers: 

  • Chris Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, The Third Floor, Inc.
  • Michael Uslan, President and Executive Producer, Branded Entertainment
  • Wang Hui, President, Datang Brilliant Media Co. Ltd.
  • Peter Kujawski, Managing Director, Universal Pictures Int’l Productions
  • Mike Hsu, Partner, C2M Media

The China Wave: How’s Chinese Investment in Hollywood Doing and What’s Next?

Moderator: Sheri Jeffrey, Partner, Hogan Lovells

Speakers:

  • Jingyan (Maggie) Huang, Managing Director, Fosun Group
  • Ethan Sawyer, Managing Director, Head of Entertainment Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley
  • David Linde, Chief Executive Officer, Participant Media
  • Christophe Lambert, Chief Executive Officer, EuropaCorp
  • Mark Gao, Chairman, Fundamental Films

Take Two: Overcoming Legal, Financial, Production Disconnects in Cross-Border Films

Moderator: Stephen Saltzman, Partner, Loeb & Loeb

Speakers:

Barbara Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Celadon Films
Simon Sun, Executive Vice President, Le Vision Pictures USA
Cao Yu, Partner, Haiwen & Partners
Pang Hong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kylin Films
Michael Andreen, Senior Vice President, International Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

The Future of Movie Going: What Will it Take to Keep Film in China Growing?

Moderator: Lindsay Conner, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Speakers:

  • Lin Ning, Chief Executive Officer, Beijing Weying Technology Co.
  • Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief, Variety
  • Rance Pow, President, Artisan Gateway
  • Kenny Wong, Counsel, Hogan Lovells
  • Wu Man-Fang, Dean, School of Management, Beijing Film Academy

Insights From the Corner Office: Studio Heads Open Up About U.S.-China Film

Moderator: Bennett Pozil, Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Banking, East West Bank

Speakers:

  • Jack Gao, Group Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, International Investments and Business Development, Wanda Cultural Industry Group
  • Yu Dong, Chief Executive Officer, Bona Film Group
  • Li Yansong, President, iQIYI Motion Pictures
  • Wang Cong, Chief Strategy Officer, Huace Media Group
  • Gao Yang, President, Yucheng-Zhongluan Investment

The Film Summit, which is also honoring director Zhang Yimou and Le Vision Pictures Chief Executive Officer Zhang Zhao at the Gala Dinner, has attracted unprecedented support from sponsors this year, including East West Bank, Hogan Lovells and Le Vision Pictures. Among new sponsors are Chinese Internet, film and finance companies with international ambitions. This year’s Summit and Gala Sponsor is Yucheng-Zhongluan Investment, a new film fund established by investor and producer Gao Yang.

“Sino-U.S. film cooperation is the best way to develop our two countries' culture, economy and technology, and Asia Society’s Film Summit is a proven forum for advancing this collaboration,” said Gao, who is also Chairman of China S Emperor Films. “As cooperation becomes more ambitious, we hope we can develop and open the market," added Gao, who is looking to invest in U.S. film in the near future.

The Film Summit is presented in cooperation with Association of Film Commissioners International, CAPE (The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), China Hollywood Society, Hong Kong Association of Southern California, Motion Picture Association of America, Producers Guild of America, USC US-China Institute, and Women in Film.

For tickets and additional information on the Summit, please visit: http://asiasociety.org/us-china-film-summit.

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 headquarters in New York, and centers in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, DC. For more information, go to www.asiasociety.org/southern-california.

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