Jia Zhangke (3rd from left) competes for the fourth time for the prestigious Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. (Photo : www.news.cn)
It seems like China's hard work has paid off in the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Pierre Lescure, the esteemed president of the international film festival, commented that China's film production industry has given this year's festival much needed diversity.
"There is a long tradition of Chinese aesthetics in Cannes Film Festival. It will grow and embellish further because you have companies like [sic] China Film but also new companies investing more and more in production and we will have more and more Chinese films proposed each year at Cannes," said Lescure in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
He also noted that China is "where a new model is being built."
Lescure, during the interview, said that he believes Chinese cinema can help inspire other nations across the globe to increase film production.
New technology, he said, has significantly contributed to the decrease of production costs. This creates a domino effect, as Lescure believes that cheaper means of film production greatly encourages young filmmakers to get on with their craft.
Over the recent years, Cannes Film Festival has opened its doors wider on Asian cinema and filmmakers, particularly those from China. Lescure credited the ongoing dialogue between North and South America.
"There are strong relations between Beijing and France through UniFrance. . . . The Cannes Film Festival was very open to have a common work on their project of Qingdao Festival in 2017. We are very interested and I think for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, we can announce joint projects with Wanda," said Lescure.
Pierre Lescure was elected as president of Cannes Film Festival by unanimous vote in 2014. He was the former head of the French TV channel, Canal+.
