UK & China Seek Co-Pro Opportunities; BBC Studios Sets ‘Walking with Dinosaurs' iQiyi Streaming Launch For China — Filmart
At the UK-China Screen Forum held with Hong Kong's Filmart, BBC Studios unveiled that Walking with Dinosaurs will premiere exclusively on iQiyi for mainland China audiences in 2025, and a Chinese-dubbed version of nature series Asia will also launch on Phoenix Chinese Channel.
The forum, now in its fourth edition, featured a delegation from the UK's Department of Business and Trade (DBT), British Film Institute (BFI), BBC Studios, Film Export UK as well as from China's Pheonix TV and Bilibili. Organizers said that another UK-China Screen Forum will run during the BFI London Film Festival in October.
More from Deadline
EST N8 Acquires Indonesian Horror Film 'Pabrik Gula' ('Sugar Mill') For North America Release - Filmart
Josie Ho's 852 Films Unveils Five New Projects; Signs Acting Deal With Iman Taheri - Filmart
'All We Imagine As Light' Takes Top Honors At Asian Film Awards; Japanese Filmmaker Daihachi Yoshida Wins Best Director For 'Teki Cometh'
Singapore-based Phil Hardman, executive VP and general manager of Asia at BBC Studios, highlighted how the upcoming six-part Walking with Dinosaurs series relaunches a beloved IP from 1999 from the BBC's Science Unit.
Hardman also said that the BBC's Planet Earth series, Bluey and Inside No. 9 works have all done well in China, with the company also co-producing Supertato with Tencent Video.
Rupert Daniels, Director of Creative, Services and Skills at the UK's DBT highlighted four key priorities for UK-China relations in the entertainment industries: innovate new co-productions; increase Chinese investment in UK infrastructure; harness the UK's IP in publishing, music, film, TV and immersive; and establish the UK as the partner of choice to scale businesses and collaborate.
'We've invested hugely in our production facilities, it's driven by tax dollars and this is something we actually want to encourage Chinese companies and investors to work with UK production partners on,' said Daniels.
Daniels added that under the new UK government, the creative industry was selected as one of eight top growth priorities. The UK's creative industries generate £125B ($162B) in revenue per year and forms the third largest creative services exporter in the world behind the US and Ireland. This is Daniels' first UK delegation to Filmart since the pandemic.
'From from our side in government, we have nothing to sell like the BBC, but what we have is the duty to try to make the conditions easier for everybody, so that you remove as many regulatory burdens on all sides,' said Daniels. 'For example, what I mentioned about tax credits, those are designed to create growth and are designed to open up the UK market to global co-productions.'
Daniels further stated that £4.8B ($6.2B) in UK film and TV production spend was on inward investment and co-production in 2024. A new UK Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC), at a net rate of 39.75%, will also be available from April 1 this year to films with budgets up to £15m that meet the criteria of a new BFI UK creative practitioner test.
He emphasized that he is keen to put pen to paper on more agreements between the UK and China film industries in the near future. 'I want to turn contacts into contracts,' said Daniels, who has made business visits to Beijing and Shanghai in recent years, and will also visit Shenzhen in the coming days.
For UK film sales companies arriving in Hong Kong, genre titles have remained as the most promising area for business.
Grace Carley, chief executive of Film Export UK, which currently represents 28 companies that sell independent feature films internationally, acknowledged that it is still a very challenging environment for UK sales companies to do business in China. She pointed out that her Film Export UK delegation to Filmart has shrunk post-Covid.
'It's been very difficult to sell, particularly into China, for the last five or six years, but I think with more co-productions, partnership and collaboration, this will be more possible,' said Carley. 'Part of this comes down to the fact that China has such fantastic offerings.'
Some UK sales agents present at Filmart include Altitude, Alliance Media Partners, Film Seekers, Jinga Films, Screenbound and Kaleidoscope Film Distribution.
Carley remains hopeful that a bigger delegation will come to Filmart next year, and highlighted opportunities for both Chinese and UK companies to work together.
'It's about releasing in the UK as well — for us to have more Chinese products in the UK — that will really help us to understand what works in China,' adds Carley.
Cura Zhang, vice-general manager and head of Bilibili's factual content, said: 'We're looking forward to more collaborations between Bilibili and all kinds of production houses, broadcasters and companies around the UK to find out more internationalization possibilities. We are trying to export more Chinese content, more Bilibili content.
'We are also welcoming and importing more British content to China to satisfy our users. We have a huge demand for international content on Bilibili by the younger generation, and that is why internationalization is one of the most important targets for Bilibili in the next few years,' added Zhang.
Best of Deadline
Epic Universe: The Latest Images Of The New Universal Orlando Theme Park
Which Colleen Hoover Books Are Becoming Movies? 'Verity,' 'Reminders Of Him' & 'Regretting You' Will Join 'It Ends With Us'
The 25 Highest-Grossing Animated Films Of All Time At The Box Office
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Remembering Beach Boys cofounder Brian Wilson after his death
Good morning, all. It's officially stone fruit season. Here are some tasty ways to enjoy them. Now, we have some sad news to report. Subscribe to get this newsletter in your inbox each morning. Brian Wilson, cofounder of the renowned California pop rock band the Beach Boys, has died, his family announced yesterday. He was 82. Take a look back at his life and the legacy he leaves behind. A musical prodigy: As the band's songwriter and colead vocalist, Wilson earned critical acclaim for his innovative recording techniques. He helped the band mature beyond its iconic surf sound, culminating in part in the widely influential album Pet Sounds. See his life in photos. [People] Paying homage: 'The emotions he poured into every note changed the course of music forever,' the band said. Bob Dylan called him a 'genius.' And his daughter Carnie Wilson said he'd be remembered by millions 'until the world ends.' Read more touching tributes. [Entertainment Weekly] 🌎 U.S.-China trade deal President Trump said the U.S. and China had agreed to a trade deal in which the U.S. will charge 55% tariffs on imports in exchange for rare earth minerals and allowing Chinese students to attend American universities. [Reuters] ➡️ Air India crash A London-bound Air India Boeing 787 passenger plane with more than 240 people on board crashed this morning in Ahmedabad, India. The city's police commissioner said there appear to be no survivors. [AP] 💉 New vaccine panel After firing all of its members, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced eight new members of the CDC advisory panel for vaccines. Some are well-respected experts, but others have criticized vaccines and spread misinformation. [USA Today] 🏀 Pacers triumph The Pacers' speed helped them defeat the Thunder 116-107 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. The Pacers haven't lost back-to-back games since March. The Thunder need to make them do that to win the title. [Yahoo Sports] 🎤 A Sabrina summer A week after releasing her new single, Sabrina Carpenter announced that her new album, Man's Best Friend, will drop on Aug. 29 in an Instagram post that included the cover art, which is already generating controversy. See it. [Yahoo Entertainment] 🏝️ Buckle up, reality TV fans: The new season of Love Island UK premiered overnight on Hulu. Meet the new crop of singles. [USA Today] 📺 Also streaming now: Season 2 of Fubar, Arnold Schwarzenegger's action comedy, is on Netflix. Watch the trailer. [TVLine] ⚾ On the field, the Tigers — minus rookie pitcher Jackson Jobe, who will undergo Tommy John surgery and is out for the season — take on the Orioles at 6:35 p.m. ET on the MLB app. [Yahoo Sports] 🏒 On the ice, the Oilers and the Panthers meet amid officiating complaints for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. The Panthers lead the series 2-1. [Athlon Sports] ☀️ And don't forget to: Read your daily horoscope. Play the crossword. Check the forecast in your area. In 1967, after hearing the Loving v. Virginia case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state laws banning interracial marriages were unconstitutional. The events leading up to that landmark decision recently received an operatic retelling. Take a look. [Washington Post] If you've been thinking about signing up for a travel credit card, travel writer Cassandra Brooklyn has some tips. Cassandra: They help you earn miles on everyday purchases and offer perks like airport lounge access and free checked bags, and statement credits for things like rideshares and TSA PreCheck. Here are a few of the things I consider when choosing a card. Cassandra: My pro tips: Concentrate your spending on only one or two cards to rack up points. Familiarize yourself with all the perks to ensure you're not missing out. And check your bill to confirm statement credits have actually been applied. Cassandra: To save the most money, I've found that you often need to plan far in advance or take advantage of last-minute deals. Your dollar also goes a lot further in 'bang for your buck' destinations like Milwaukee (my hometown) and Fort Wayne, which have a ton of affordable options for most travelers. Which travel cards does Cassandra like? Here are two of them. Follow her on Instagram. Scientists exploring Antarctica's Southern Ocean recently captured the first-ever footage of a live Gonatus antarcticus squid, and it was all by chance, National Geographic announced. 'We were not supposed to be there,' researcher Manuel Novillo said. Watch the mesmerizing video. [Popular Science] Have a great day. See you tomorrow! 💡 P.S. Before you go, your daily advice: Want to get better at remembering things? Try attaching what you want to remember to something of importance. [CNN] About The Yodel: The Yodel is a morning newsletter from Yahoo News. Start your day with The Yodel to get caught up on weather, national news, politics, entertainment and sports — in four minutes or less. Did you like this morning's newsletter? Subscribe to have it sent to you on weekdays. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.


Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Pitbull is a fan of his fans. He says it's his job to make them feel good
LONDON — Is Pitbull the penguin of music? It's been said that it's hard to look at a penguin and feel sad. And likewise, it's tough to listen to one of Mr. Worldwide's party anthems and feel bad. That's always been his aim. 'They're there for when you're feeling a certain way in life,' Pitbull explains. 'It can help pick you up or it can take you to the next level.'

Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
White shirts. Black ties. Bald caps. Pitbull's fans party like clones worldwide
LONDON (AP) — Londoners have reported thousands of sightings of Pitbull this week. With that bald head, goatee and suit, he's pretty hard to miss. On closer inspection, though, it becomes clear that Mr. Worldwide is not actually everywhere all at once — in his stead, those are clones swarming London, on their way to the O2 Arena to see him onstage. That goatee? Drawn on. That bare head? Bald caps, in lieu of a dramatic shave. More than two decades into his career, the Miami superstar whose hits — from 'Hotel Room Service' to 'Timber' and 'Give Me Everything' to 'El Taxi' — have become permanent playlist staples of weddings, bar mitzvahs and, yes, the club is stoking a growing fan frenzy in the U.K. and beyond. He started noticing the odd look-alike or two at concerts back in 2021, emerging from the pandemic-era lockdowns. 'Maybe out of 20,000 people coming to the show, 30,000 coming to show, you'll see a thousand,' he says of what happened next. But that's before he hit the U.K. 'We jumped the pond and we ended up in London and it was just something else. It was definitely a whole new movement, took it to a whole new level,' Pitbull told The Associated Press, the day after Monday's show in London. The phenomenon is something that has rapidly grown from a minority to the majority — or from a negative to a positive, as Pitbull is known to say. Unlike the celebrity look-alike contests that reward uncanny resemblance to the likes of Timothée Chalamet,Glen Powell or even Ernest Hemingway, it's less about the ability to grow the right facial hair and more about the vibe. After all, the vast majority of those dressed up at Monday's concert were women. (Pitbelles, one could say.) These wannabe clones were spotted on the underground to North Greenwich, where they proceeded to dance outside the arena to a live DJ set for hours before the show even started. Photos were taken in front of a giant poster of Pitbull and goatees were carefully colored in on friends' faces before, finally, the sunglasses went on. Rebecca Petrie and Jamie Lee Hart spent hours online to get tickets, traveling from Scotland for the gig. They suggested that girls are more drawn to dressing up than guys. 'Women are more brave,' Hart said. And Pitbull appreciates that. 'To have more women in the crowd, it just goes to show you that they are feeling what the most powerful woman in my life has taught me on stage,' he says, referencing his mother, 'which is a gentleman that knows how to have a good time. Sometimes a little naughty, sometimes a little nice, but more than anything a good person that will do the right thing to the best of my ability.' Videos from Pitbull's London show in February flooded social media with a decent number of look-alikes vibing out to tracks like 'On the Floor' and 'Fireball.' When additional June shows for his 'Party After Dark' tour went on sale, ticket buyers got the memo: Dress up or stand out as one of the few who didn't. Indeed, the floor of the arena on Monday looked like a sea of baked beans, courtesy the bald caps, while the stands looked like the destination of an unlikely school trip, with rows after rows of white shirts and black ties askew. 'If you're going to go to a Pitbull concert you need to really feel his energy and you can't do that without a bald cap and a suit,' attendee Keeley James Elliot said, while posing with Mr. Worldwide-inspired inflated globes outside the venue. Expect similar scenes at his upcoming Europe dates, as he winds his way through Paris, Prague and Poland. He'll jaunt back to the U.S. for dates in South Dakota, Las Vegas and a stop at the Iowa State Fair, before making his way to Australia in October. The 305 may be an area code, but it reaches far beyond South Florida. Fans should know that Pitbull wholeheartedly appreciates their efforts and makes sure to watch the crowds arriving for the show. He too is a fan — of them: 'To have people out here feeling that good dressed up as me — man, unbelievable.'