27 June 2014
In the afternoon of 16 June, as one of the activities of the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival, the Global Film Industry Value Chain Development Forum co-hosted by the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) and Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) was held successfully at the STA Theatre. Over 500 people attended the forum, including the guests of the film festival from home and abroad, teachers and students from the relevant colleges and departments of the Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tongji University and Shanghai Normal University, as well as the industry representatives.
It was the first time for STA to host such a high-profile international forum on film with the participation of so many senior executives of the MPAA member companies, leading Hollywood independent production/film companies, world’s largest filming studio/base management companies and film entertainment companies, as well as the academics and industry experts from within China. They included: Han Sheng, President of STA; Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director, MPAA Asia Pacific; Ren Zhonglun, Chairman of Shanghai Film Group; Miao Xiaotian, President, China Film Co-production Corporation; William Feng Wei, General Manager and Chief Representative, MPAA China, Sherwood Hu, Dean of Film & TV Academy, STA; Eben Davidson, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Production, Paramount Pictures; Jack Gao, Senior Vice President, News Corporation; Hugo Shong, Founding General Partner, IDG Capital Partners; Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity Media; Jill Tandy, Executive Vice President, Commercial Affairs, Universal Pictures International; Bob Storer, Managing Director, Film Finances Inc; Peggy Chiao, Executive Producer, Professor of Taipei National University of the Arts; Michael Lake, CEO of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios; Michael Stephens, Managing Director, Stephens Lawyers Ltd; Tracey Trench, Head of Creative Development, Oriental Dreamworks; Yin Xu, Vice President of Hengdian Group; Zhang Jizhong, famous director; Zhou Tiedong, President of Beijing Novo United Film Co Ltd. Huang Changyong, Vice President of STA and the responsible people of the relevant departments and colleges of STA also attended the forum.
The opening session of the forum was chaired by William Feng, General Manager and Chief Representative of MPAA China. On behalf of the hosts, Han Sheng, President of STA, delivered the welcoming speech. He also introduced STA’s tradition in art education and its development in the film and television disciplines to the participants of the forum. Then, Huang Changyong, Vice President of STA, announced the appointment of Ren Zhonglun, Chairman of Shanghai Film Group, as a guest professor of STA and invited President Han Sheng to present the certificate of appointment to Chairman Ren. This was followed by the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement between Relativity Media and China Film Promotion International and the signing of the strategic consultancy agreement between Relativity Media and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
Two panel discussions were then held with the themes being “A Global Perspective of China’s Film Industry Value Chain” and “China’s Studio Theme Parks and Film Industry Development Model for University Cooperation to Enhance Global Value Chain” respectively. The lively and inspiring discussions of the panelists on these hot topics attracted the great interest and attention of the audience.
Forum in progress
Panel discussion
Han Sheng, President of STA, speaks at the forum
Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director of MPAA Asia Pacific, speaks at the forum
Group photo of forum participants
