娱乐英语新闻:Interview: New Zealand showcases diverse movies during Beijing Film Festival

WELLINGTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Film Commission will bring five movies to Beijing International Film Festival start from this week and the movies are a slice of contemporary kiwi life with diversified characteristics, commission chief executive Dave Gibson said in a interview with Xinhua.

Among almost 300 movies, why Chinese fans should choose New Zealand movies in the festival?

The reason, Gibson said Monday, lies in the very fact that New Zealand movies are quite diverse and quite varied. The five films featured in vampire, ballet, horror stories, west life, as well as Maori. It is "a slice of contemporary kiwi life". "A lot of people would think they understand what a French film would be like. A French film would probably be a romantic comedy, or something like life style movie. People have strong sense of what the cinemas of these counties like," Gibson said, "I think New Zealand cinemas are quite diverse. So it is a chance for people to seek something different, unusual."

According to Gibson, the five movies target to different audiences.

If you are young, you probably like "What we do in the shadows" , a vampire comedy which is well received by New Zealanders. If you like classic ones, "Giselle" might be a good choice. It is a movie about ballet dance and romance.

Along with diverse productions, New Zealand film industry is famous of beautiful shooting scenes and directors like Peter Jackson, James Cameron, who work in the island of the long white cloud.

The New Zealand Film Commission is going to have a booth in Beijing Film Market, held simultaneously with the film festival, to promote national film industry. The commission will bring about 30 kiwi producers to the Market to communicate with their Chinese counterparts.

Gibson said "The Booth for us is unusual. We really want to raise profile. With the booth, we can invite people to get to know the producers."

There will be also famous kiwi coffee "Flat White". Gibson said the Commission would prepare coffee machine in the booth to attract more people. "We offer coffee and good environment. Just be friendly and hopeful, and optimistic."

To promote cooperation with China film makers is a major target for the Commission. China and New Zealand signed China's first- ever television co-production agreement in November last year during President Xi Jinping's visit to New Zealand. Since then, The New Zealand Film Commission set up special fund to subsidy possible co-production films and to help kiwi producers to talk with Chinese ones. "That has been good. We haven't yet still got the first official co-production signed into production. But, we are going to have our first film," Gibson said, "We got probably two pretty close, I think, and two or three others further there. I'm hoping to have something in the next two or three month."

Gibson said so far, an animation film was getting quite close and one feature documentary also got quite close.

The commission also has intensive communications with Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai. Gibson revealed that they were talking about bringing New Zealand female documentary directors and their productions to Guangzhou International Documentary Festival.