Interview: Action movies, visual effects expected areas for cooperation with China: AFPF chief

President of the French Association of Film Producers (AFPF) Stephane Guenin saw opportunities for cooperation with China in action movies and visual effects.

Guenin made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"It would be nice to work with China in developing great set constructions, because we knew how to prepare it but now we lost this expertise," said Guenin at the ongoing 68th Festival de Cannes.

According the AFPF chief, cooperation and mutual respect are key for cooperation.

"I have been invited in 2007 to Hong Kong to create a cooperation platform and I was very interested by the Chinese way to approach film making, which is very comparable to the French and American ones," he said.

"This positive combination eventually drove us to work together, as we share a common high level of good cuisine and taste for fine arts, but it's also important to share a mutual respect for each other's culture," he continued.

Guenin said it is important for the French producers, who are going to China, to respect Chinese culture and not try to import their know-hows.

"The first problem with French producers coming to China or Hong Kong was that they wanted to show that they were the best in world, but they are not the best even if France have a nice tradition of making good films," Guenin explained.

Today China is doing very good films, so does France, so that's why both sides have to share our mutual experience and try to do common projects, Guenin said.

"I'm attracted to see the path of the film and the sensitivity which is not fake, while Chinese movies are more and more dedicated to attracting the audience and not to do a self-shrink analysis," he added.

About the French presence in the Chinese film market, the president said, "our French film production is limited, but when we did an international film like Lucy by Luc Besson, which was shot in Taiwan and Paris, we had a huge success, it was not only for the French market and with this kind of movie you can enter every market."

Talking about Chinese actors and movie directors, Guenin said when China wants to be the number one, they do their best and most of the time they succeed, so they show their beautiful actors and actresses, their fantastic locations and great costumes.

"Few years ago when people were talking about Chinese movies, they were always referring most of the times to Kung Fu film made in Hong Kong, now the panorama is more various," he explained.

Guenin experienced also the studios in China. "Chinese people are very close to the American way to work," the president said, recalling his visit to the Shaw Brothers studios in Hong Kong which in his opinion are quite comparable to the U.S. ones.

"We don't have that in France any more. A studio has to produce 365 days a year and this is not possible in France right now," he said.

Asked about the Chinese presence in the main competition of the 68th Festival de Cannes, he said "it is not a surprise for me to see two Chinese movies in the competition for the Golden Palm. The Chinese films production is very large and the quality is there." Enditem