Post event news of Legend China International Film Forum (LIFF).
Legend, Pune team members in above image, from (L) to (R):
Gokul Mahajan (Creative Supervisor), Bhanu Prakash (Stereo Supervisor), Jay Mehta (Creative Director & Head of VFX), Monalisa Bhattacharya (Line Producer), Srilagna Saha (Communications & Marketing Manager), Shamitha Kattukandy (Chief Operating Officer), Shameer Basha (Senior IT Manager).
As China’s media and entertainment industry continues to focus on the future development of the country’s film industry, it has become imperative to understand its relevance in the global market. The cultural exploration around movie-making business has remained a topic of interest for a long time. Keeping this context in mind, Legend’s China facility recently organized a forum to highlight some of the key topics.
The Legend International Film Forum (LIFF) was held on May 30 in China’s Luoyang City. Legend China hosted the event in collaboration with the local Municipal Government and Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism. Industry bigwigs gathered at Wanda Cinema for a day-long exchange of ideas and networking, followed by a grand Award Gala Night to showcase the front-runners.
Wei Xianfeng, Vice Mayor of the Luoyang Municipal Government, Hu Dapeng, Director of the Luoyang Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, Wang Jianjun, vice director of the Luoyang Science and Technology Bureau, Song Zhongming, deputy researcher of the Luoyang Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Wu Di, deputy director of Administrative Committee, Luoyang Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Area, and Du Yusheng, deputy director of Luoyang Free Trade Zone Management Committee, Jing Yanping, vice chairman of BBS Preparatory Committee for Bao Film Industry Summit, Lorelei Tong, Legend China’s General Manager, William Maurer, senior American producer, along with other government officials were present at the event.
For the first time, the ancient capital– Luoyang- ushered in top-level experts from the domestic film industry. Many Chinese film experts took this opportunity to have dialogues with leading industry figures from the US, India and other countries.
While the event’s keynote speech circled around “Development of Chinese Film & Cooperation Strategy with Hollywood”, much emphasis was laid on “Rise of Foreign Film Industry in India” addressed by Legend’s Chief Operating Officer Shamitha Kattukandy and Creative Supervisor Gokul Mahajan. Unlike earlier days when Indian VFX and Animation artists would travel abroad to work on top banner Hollywood projects, these days major studios are willing to collaborate with leading Indian studios to meet their VFX and Animation work requirements. Skilled professionals and world-class post-production capabilities in VFX, 3D and Animation is making India a popular outsourcing destination.
The panelists highlighted the reasons around this growing trend and how India can gain advantage with the Hollywood connection. Much initiatives coming from the Indian government were discussed, along with some of the challenges that are faced in India – cultural difference, time-zone difference, high rate of attrition, etc.
Legend’s Creative Director & Head of Visual Effects, Jay Mehta, spoke about the overall management requirements for film-making (production management, planning, pipeline, staffing). According to Mehta, while it’s crucial to understand the importance of proper staffing, it is equally important to involve visual effects in the planning stage. On the issue of the globalization of the film crew, Mehta expressed his views. He believes that the modern film crew is becoming more global, can easily understand culture and customs differences of each country.
As the initiator of this forum, Legend China shared its excitement in working on the recently released Legendary Entertainment’s “Detective Pikachu”. Show’s Stereo Supervisor Bhanu Prakash was present during the last segment of the panel discussion, covering the overall scope of work and sharing appreciation message from director Rob Letterman.
In addition, the launch ceremony of “Digital Culture and Creative Industry Talent Training Program” was officially announced at the event. Wei Xianfeng, Hu Dapeng, Jing Yanping, Lorelei Tong, William Maurer and Wu Lei, chairman of LYRICS and the Chinese investor of Legend, participated in the ceremony. Just as Legend China expanded its own creative team, their talent training development and management innovation is recognized by major film industry experts. The artist-oriented talent-training model will be the core driving force for the sustainable development of the Chinese film industry.
Check out the image gallery of Legend China International Film Forum event.
