Red Cliff, John Woo’s latest film, is being touted as the most expensive Asian film ever made. A war epic set for a summer 2008 release, the film was financed largely by backers from Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Buddy Marini, Managing Director of Avex Asia, one of the movie’s distributors, said the film does not necessarily spell out the future of co-productions in Asia. Mr Marini, speaking at the 17 March FILMART International Conference, Co-Productions: The Road Forward for Asia?, said it is the calibre of people involved in the film that sets it apart.

“It’s a Hong Kong-Hollywood team producing it. It has Terence Chang producing and John Woo directing. They have had immense experience in Hollywood, and they are successful filmmakers who decided to return to Asia to create a global film,” he said.

“We do believe in the potential in Asia, but we’re really thinking about the potential globally,” he added. “We believe in an integrated Asian market.”

In Asia, an increasing number of formal co-production treaties are being signed by governments and national film bodies. If films qualify as local in more than one country, they gain access to multiple subsidy funds or can benefit from optimal conditions upon release.

Funding Blindness

Pioneered by European governments and production sectors, co-productions are also actively encouraged by Telefilm Canada. According to Executive Director Wayne Clarkson, Telefilm has agreements with six Asian countries.

Mr Clarkson cites the upcoming film Blindness as a successful example of international funding. Based on the book by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, the film version is directed by Brazil’s Fernando Meirelles of City of God fame and stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, Gael Garcia Bernal and Sandra Oh.

“It was a Canadian producer who owned the rights and developed it. It was a Canadian writer who did it, and there are Canadian performers in the film,” he said.

“What I find so contemporary and curious about it, is that it’s based on a Portuguese novel and has Japanese and Brazilian partners.” Mr Clarkson adds that it also includes considerable Canadian investment.

Last year, Canada co-produced 63 film and TV projects worldwide and, in addition, about 10 feature films.

“There’s no question that official co-productions are difficult. Independent producers face a wealth of obstacles and problems wherever they’re making a movie, in whatever market,” he said.

“But there are these opportunities that come with certain challenges. If you want access to the Canadian’s taxpayers’ money, we create certain obligations that come with that.”

Mr Clarkson likened the process to that of the Hong Kong Film Development Fund, which provides 30 per cent of funding to films that meet its requirements. Wellington Fung, Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, said the fund makes Hong Kong a more attractive place to co-produce.

Borderline Cases

“The government rarely invests in something commercial,” he pointed out. “The whole intention of this scheme is to encourage what we call ‘the independents.’”

Requirements include a proportion of local talent and participation from those who have at least two feature films under their belt over the past 10 years.

“When they have a hard time finding investors, they can come to us. It’s intended for those borderline cases and will help increase production,” said Mr Fung.

Singapore-based Stephen Clark, the General Manager of RGM, said that the key to a project is the material. The environment in Singapore supports media across the board, Mr Clark said. RGM started life as an Australian company but has since transformed into a Singaporean one. “There was a sense five or six years ago that material from Asia was untapped.”

He added that he was wary of co-productions because so many different factors have to be taken into consideration. “Everything is a compromise, and you have to be aware of these issues. Unless you start organically, it can be limiting. The story would have to be altered to fit the location and cultural sensitivity,” he said.

“It comes down to how transparent, how accessible and how bankable the rebates and facilities available in participating countries are.”

Fraught with Danger

His concerns were echoed by Ted Perkins, Production Executive at IDG. The Chinese mainland venture capital company, he said, wanted to make films that were universal in outlook yet locally made – but “not too parochial. You can choose to do a co-production because you think you’re going to have some sort of benefit that’s not just purely financial,” he said.

“But that’s fraught with dangers, too, because you might be working with a co-production partner in a country that wants you to change the script significantly or use an actor who has a certain dialect that isn’t going to be harmonious with the markets you want to cater to.”

When asked about the many co-productions on the mainland stopped because of censorship complications, Mr Perkins said that nobody should be in the business of making movies purely for the hope of challenging Chinese cultural norms.

“To me, a movie is a movie; it’s entertainment. It should be seen by people who buy popcorn and want to escape the daily grind.”