On Friday 30th Janurary, The “Global Dialogue – Toward the Future” youth cultural exchange event was held in Paris, France. Guests and youth representatives in the fields of culture, education, film and television from China, France anad the UK gathered together to conduct in-depth discussions on cross-cultural communication and people-to-people exchanges.

The event was presented by Global Times Entertainment, held at the Centre Culturel de Chine, and supported by UK-China Film Collab.

Below is the full script of a keynote speech delievered by our Founder, in English, partial French and partial Chinese.

[SEEPCH BEGINS]

“Good afternoon, everyone, my fellow dreamers.

My name is Dr Hiu Man Chan, and I wear many hats in this wild, wild world. I am an academic, a university lecturer, a film producer, a film festival director, a mentor for young people, a martial art practitioner, a sport enthusiast….

The list can go on.

In short, I appreciate everything you see in films, or is revealed in films, which is life.

Bonjour à tous, mes chers rêveurs.

Je m’appelle Dr Hiu Man Chan, et je porte de nombreux chapeaux dans ce monde sauvage. Je suis universitaire, enseignante à l’université, productrice de films, directrice de festival de cinéma, mentor pour les jeunes, pratiquante d’arts martiaux, passionnée de sport… la liste pourrait continuer.

Bref, j’apprécie tout qu’on voit dans les films — et ce que les films révèlent — car c’est la vie.

I have been invited by the event organiser today, Global Times, to do a short Keynote speech and lead on this film appreciation session. But before all, I would like to first share my appreciation for France, and its people. For those who know me, they would know my love for the cinema. I often tell people, that I am married to the cinema, to the ideal of the cinema. They would then ask: “are you okay, what happened to you?” I would then answer, with my sincere honesty, I blame the French, they are the ‘devils’.

Mais avant tout, j’aimerais d’abord exprimer mon admiration pour la France et pour son peuple.

Ceux qui me connaissent savent à quel point je suis passionnée de cinéma. Je dis souvent que je suis mariée au cinéma, à l’idéal du cinéma. On me demande parfois : « ça va ? Qu’est-ce qui t’arrive ? »

Je réponds alors, avec la plus sincère honnêteté : j’accuse les Français — ce sont des « diables ».

Pardonnez-moi, je continue maintenant en anglais et en chinois.

Cinema was invented in France, in this country, by the Lumiere Brothers. The depth of romantic belief in the cinema that French people have is something rather special. It is an ideal that is willing to give oneself to multiple possibilities of reality in light and shadows, it is an ideal that dares to dream and dream on. Your renown film festival, the Cannes film festival continues to attract thousands of filmmakers and enthusiasts from around the world every year, including those celebrities from Hollywood, and from China. Not many know, but I do, this most famous film festival in the world exists largely for the purpose to support the cinemas in France. It’s an international stage for all, but an economic model for the home market, here.

There is another country, from my observation, that its people also share the same passion for the cinema. Which is China. In Chinese, ‘film’ is translated as ‘Electric Shadows’.

Chinese language, like French is also quite poetic. It leaves gaps for imagination. Young people in China love watching films. The number of young cinephiles is increasing and they adore European cinema, especially French arthouse cinema. Among all other countries, after years of investment and strong will, the French film festival in China reaches the most cities and is certainly the most successful cultural exercise. Not even the UK can compete on this. I often use France’s success to poke the British, and ask, when can you be more seriously romantic?

Now, here I reveal the secret, why do I blame the French for my life-long marriage to the cinema. It was a French film festival in Hong Kong, in early 2000s that I attended, I was only perhaps one of the 5 audiences in the room, but it doesn’t matter. I was sold. There, at the age of 15, I experienced the magic. The magic of empathy, of curiosity, of fantasy, of travelling, of being part of the wild, wild world, via light and shadows. This is still possible and more young people need to be liberated from their phones and social media; they deserve to dream bigger and dream further. Cinema is here to rescue our next generation, for their philosophical advancement, intellectual development and empathy building.

Of course, English must come into the affair at some point, too. If the Chinese philosophical poetics and the French’s romantic belief opened my appetite for the cinema, then I would say the UK’s education exposed me the pragmaticism and logics how to implement one’s passion into a reality of critique. That’s why I founded the small NGO UK-China Film Collab, experimenting on what I call the ‘grass-root’ diplomacy – creating a space for alternative dialogue and imagination. We observe, create and innovate, because we believe in creating the impossibilities during the cultural ice-age in the past 10 years, via a simple appreciation for films and the cinema.

Appreciation is not just cultural, but it also translates into economic growth.

According to Screen International, “China’s box office hit $7.42bn (RMB51.83bn), up by 22% compared to 2024, with animations Ne Zha 2 and Zootopia 2 smashing records and leading the pack.

A total of 474 films were released, comprising 368 local titles for a 79.7% market share of the total box office. Cinema attendance reached 1.24 billion admissions.

Chinese animation Ne Zha 2 was a major success, collecting $2.21bn (RMB15.45bn) to become the biggest film of all time in China by a large margin and the biggest film of the year globally.

Disney animation Zootopia 2 nabbed the second place with $575m (RMB4.02bn) as of December 31. Showing strong momentum, it crossed $608m (RMB4.25bn) on January 6, beating 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to become China’s biggest imported film ever.”

Not just for big productions from China or Hollywood, international arthouse and independent films also benefited from the strong and young appetite in China. French-Spanish co-production animation Robert Dreams is a good example.

With its total box office in the region reaching approximately $1.9 million to over $2 million following a successful re-release, making it one of the film’s top-performing territories (Vs. UK box-office $71,757).

I say this all the time and you can quote me on this, China, including both Special Administrative Regions, Hong Kong and Macau, will become if it isn’t yet, the biggest market for non-Hollywood international films. The distribution mechanism is experimenting a new transformation, people are ready, the audience is young, they are tired of the Hollywood model of storytelling, and they are ready to be enlightened with new curiosity and voyage.

In 2024, famous French film Léon: The Professional (Luc Besson) was re-released in China for the first time, reaching $2,4m box-office via a limited run (Vs $325,012 in South Korea). You have no idea, how many Chinese cinephiles have been influenced by this film and I can make a bet with you, that there are more people who have seen and appreciated this film in China than in the UK. And this is not about the base population, but it’s purely about enthusiasm.

In this crazy world that we live in, which I have never expected this level of madness as a child growing in the 90s and 2000s, cinema remains a safe space for us to explore ideas, debate and exchange our world views. It only takes less than 2 hours for us to live in someone else’s live for once. My very radical belief is that we only need 5 seconds among all the audience in the cinema, in the dark, together, to lose ourselves and to see the world from someone else’s perspective – to maintain that magic.

I also encourage young filmmakers to explore more co-production and collaboration, and to treat cinema as a playground for push hands and intellectual inquiries, across borders, and to at least try to transcend differences into consensus. France has been historically the most active country to support Chinese arthouse cinema and young talent, particularly its sales agents. Early films by Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye were co-financed by France, celebrated at French film festivals and sold via French companies to the world.

The UK is a little far behind but still trying. The BBC is the biggest British exporter for content to China as well as a collaborator, particularly for its famous nature programmes. Historically, if you recall a film titled The Last Emperor (1987), although directed by Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, it was a UK led co-production with Italy, France and China. Its crew remains the first and the last to be allowed to be filmed within the actual forbidden palace, on location. Films like this, give one goosebump, its cross-cultural and cross-continent collaboration is admirable, and the creation of the art creates a new dimension of history.

For the following part, I have selected clips from three very different films to demonstrate three different ways and styles for co-production. Hopefully, they can be useful references for filmmakers in the future, to explore new ideas and projects.

FILM 1: Kangxi and Louis XIV (2024)

An important case study from a diplomatic perspective

Kangxi and Louis XIV is a Sino-French documentary that explores a remarkable historical parallel between two seventeenth-century rulers who never met yet shaped their empires through strikingly similar ambitions. Set against the rise of global exchange between East and West. Through this mirrored narrative, the film reflects on governance, modernity, and soft power, revealing how two distant courts were unknowingly engaged in a shared experiment: ruling the world through ideas as much as force.

FILM 2: Wolf Totem (2015)

A successful case study from a commercial perspective

Budget: 38 million
Box office: $125.7 million

Wolf Totem is a sweeping cinematic adaptation of Jiang Rong’s acclaimed novel, set against the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia during China’s Cultural Revolution. The film follows a young Beijing intellectual sent to live among Mongolian herders, where his encounter with wolves challenges his understanding of civilisation, freedom, and the fragile balance between humans and nature. Through its striking landscapes and intimate observation of nomadic life, Wolf Totem reflects on ecological loss, cultural erosion, and the tension between modern ideology and ancient wisdom, using the wolf as a powerful symbol of resilience, instinct, and collective spirit.

FILM 3: Baobei in Love (2004)

A successful case study from an artistic perspective.

Directed by Li Shaohong, former President of the China Film Directors Association/Guild.

Baobei in Love is an intimate and quietly provocative portrait of desire, vulnerability, and emotional negotiation in contemporary urban China. Centered on a young woman navigating love, loneliness, and self-definition, the film explores relationships not as romantic ideals but as fragile spaces of power, dependency, and care. With its restrained tone and observational style, Baobei in Love reflects a generation caught between freedom and uncertainty, revealing how intimacy becomes both a refuge and a risk in a rapidly changing social landscape.

The film’s emotional texture is further enriched by the music of French composer Franco Perry, whose score brings a subtle European sensibility to the story. Blending restraint with quiet lyricism, his composition deepens the film’s intimate atmosphere without overpowering it. The collaboration adds a cross-cultural layer to the film, where French musical sensitivity meets contemporary Chinese emotional landscapes.

Film is a shared language.

To be or not to be, this is no longer a question in this new world order, but it’s a choice of action. Actions that will impact our next generations, to safeguard a peaceful environment for them to grow up and flourish.

To close, I hereby propose, why don’t we spread a little dopamine via film appreciation. Our triangular cinematic affair is more important than ever. Watch a film and debate passionately with your heart, not with weapons.

Pour conclure, notre affaire cinématographique triangulaire est plus important que jamais. Regardez un film et débattez avec passion, avec le cœur — et pas avec des armes.

Merci beacoup.”

For the full coverage by Global Times, please see here.

UK-China Film Collab members Asma Waheed and Amanda Renai Curdt-Christiansen were invited to attend the event to observe all parts.