Spain has been the guest-country at the VII Shanghai International Film Festival, held from 5 to 13 June in that populous Chinese city.
Chinese people keen on the seventh art have had the opportunity to discover the most prestigious Spanish cinema at first hand thanks to the initiative of the Chinese delegation office of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), which has programmed a section called Panorama del cine español (Spanish cinema Panorama) within the framework of this Festival.

The SGAE, which delegation-office in Shanghai was established one year ago, has selected the films El embrujo de Shangai (Fernando Trueba), Qué he hecho yo para merecer ésto (Pedro Almodóvar), Salomé and Sevillanas (Carlos Saura), El caballero Don Quijote (Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón) y Piedras (Ramón Salazar) for this first sample of the Spanish cinema in China. Films have been screened in its original Spanish version, with English subtitles. Additionally, the Festival has fitted out a supplementary screen including the Chinese translation of the film dialogues.

Saura and Gutiérrez Aragón, in China

Film directors Carlos Saura (Huesca, 1932) and Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (Torrelavega, Cantabria, 1942) travelled to Shanghai, together with the Secretary General of the Fundación Autor, Francisco Galindo, on 7 June to open this first Spanish cinema Panorama within the prestigious Shangai Film Festival framework. These filmmakers have had the opportunity to verify in situ the response of the Chinese audience to their films. Further, they have been able to know at first hand the Asian cinema market by paying a visit to the Shanghai Films Studio. They have also had the chance to exchange experiences with their Chinese colleagues at the Spanish-Chinese film market meeting held on 8 June.

The Sociedad de Autores intends, with this initiative, to encourage the presence of Spanish cinema in China. "We would like to offer Chinese citizens fond on Spanish culture the opportunity to know what's going on in our country in cinematographic terms", underlines María Cruz Alonso, manager of the Far East branch-office of such management entity.

The economic growth that this Asian country is undergoing - at a frenzied 9,3% rate - and its gradual opening-up to the West contributes to the increase of the Chinese citizens' interest about Europe, in general, and Spain in particular. "It is well known by all the Chinese people's liking of Flamenco. We now intend to introduce them to other aspects of our rich heritage, starting by cinema and with further accomplishments on theatre, dance, popular and classical music", Alonso stresses, when describing the SGAE priorities for spreading its authors' production in such a still enigmatic country with a population of 1,300 million.

'Hable con ella' in China

This initiative gives continuity to the I Week of Spanish Cinema in Shanghai, held during March 2003, when the Chinese delegation office of SGAE started its activities in the Asian country. The Oscar-awarded film Hable con ella, by Pedro Almodóvar, was then opening the Week. Asaltar los cielos, by José Luis López Linares and Javier Rioyo; Amigo amado, by Ventura Pons; Alma gitana, by Chus Gutiérrez; El árbol de las cerezas, by Marc Recha; and Intacto, by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, were the other films that the audience enjoyed seeing at the Shanghai Film Art Center one year ago.

The VII Shanghai International Film Festival has screened over 500 movies during its seven-day term, in a total of 15 cinema-theatres spread all over that huge city of 16 million inhabitants. The organization estimates having reached an audience between 250,000 and 300,000 spectators. As a result of the Chinese government commitment following its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the presence of foreign corporations in the Asiatic giant is becoming a reality, which is also noted in the Chinese cinema industry: for this year 2004 the Chinese government has authorized the exhibition of around 50 foreign films. Quite a progress when taking into account that, two years ago, only ten foreign titles were authorized for exhibition in this kind of festivals.


For further information: Departamento de Comunicación - SGAE