"Confucius" hit the red carpet for its world premiere in London on Wednesday during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United Kingdom.
The 90-minute documentary, which chronicles the life, ideology and influence of the legendary Chinese philosopher, is a joint production by China Central Television (CCTV), China International TV Corp., Shandong Mass Media Group and U.K. production company Lion Television.
"The documentary 'Confucius' not only presents a memorable, classic production but also explores a new model of China-U.K. historical documentary co-production," Guo Weimin, deputy director of China's State Council Information Office, said during the ceremony at Lancaster House.
Cultural exchanges play a key role in deepening mutual understanding between the people of China and the U.K., he said.
Li Ting, deputy editor-in-chief of CCTV, said that the documentary utilizes in-depth analysis and anecdotes as well as animation and live-action reenactments to bring Confucius and his teachings to life on the screen.
"The documentary presents, in a way that's accessible to international audiences, the man long acknowledged by the world as a great thinker, educator and politician," he added.
Li said that CCTV and Lion TV began work on "Confucius" in Sept. 2013 with a series of symposia and writing early stages of the script.
Filming started the next year in September, with CCTV cameras at the ceremony marking the 2,565th anniversary of Confucius' birth.
The crew then visited the United States, the U.K. and several locations in China, including Shandong, Hebei, Sichuan, Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Beijing, for research, interviews and filming. They also traveled to Confucius' birthplace of Mount Nishan in eastern China, where locals described the sage's enduring influence on their daily lives.
The team also explored several Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) tombs to find clues regarding the celebrated meeting between Confucius and Lao Tzu.
"With the cooperation in producing the documentary 'Confucius' as an excellent starting point, CCTV hopes to further strengthen and expand its cooperation with British media and production companies in the production, filming and purchasing of television programs, in the expectation that this will contribute significantly to the broader cultural exchange between China and the U.K.," Li said.