UK & China Seek Co-Pro Opportunities; BBC Studios Sets ‘Walking with Dinosaurs' iQiyi Streaming Launch For China — Filmart
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
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stassi Schroeder Defiantly Lets Her 4-Year-Old Daughter Hartford Drink Coke: 'Come for Me, I Don't Care'
The 'Vanderpump Villa' star said she was allowing her kids to try the soda to prevent jet lag after traveling to England for a vacationNEED TO KNOW Stassi Schroeder shared a video of her daughter Hartford, 4, drinking Coke on her Instagram Stories The Vanderpump Villa star explained that she was letting her kids try the soda to combat jet lag following their flight to England "Come for me. I DONT CARE,' Schroeder — who is also mom to son Messer Rhys, 23 months — defiantly wroteStassi Schroeder is doubling down on her daughter drinking soda. On Saturday, Aug. 9, the TV personality, 37, defended letting their 4-year-old daughter Hartford drink Coke to combat jet lag following their flight to England. 'Letting the kids have their first soda experience because I need to keep them up to prevent the jet lag and get them on schedule. Come for me. I DONT CARE,' Schroeder wrote alongside a photo of a Coke bottle and glass. Schroeder, who also shares 23-month-old son Messer Rhys with husband Beau Clark, then shared a video of Hartford sipping the drink through of a straw. 'Drink that up girl. No jet lag,' she wrote across the clip. "This will be the only time you're going to have it, though,' Clark said to Hartford as she prepared to try the drink. "Yeah so if you really love it is only reserved for moments when we're trying to prevent jet lag," Schroeder added. "It's good ... Yum. Can I have this tomorrow?' Hartford then asked as she took a sip. "No," her mom replied. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Vanderpump Rules alum and her family appear to be on vacation in the U.K. with Schroeder sharing more snaps from their trip on her Instagram Stories. In one photo, Schroeder flashed a smile as she and Messer walked on an outdoor pathway in front of a building. She then shared some shot from Nicholson's Pubs in London, including of a traditional pie and mash lunch, before posting a picture of her children standing on a bridge. The proud mom also included a video of Messer posing for a photo by a brick wall and saying 'cheese,' before yelling 'done' as he ran away. ! She then added a snap of her husband standing behind their son's stroller at The Story Museum in Oxford, along with a clip of her strolling past an old building set to the Downton Abbey theme tune. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why a '70s Singer Missed Out on Recording What Became the Beatles' Final Hit Song
Why a '70s Singer Missed Out on Recording What Became the Beatles' Final Hit Song originally appeared on Parade. Can you imagine anyone but Paul McCartney singing 'The Long and Winding Road'? Released in May 1970, a month after The Beatles broke up, the song stood as a makeshift eulogy for the band. Fans found solace and sympathy in McCartney's voice as he sang, 'The wild and windy night that the rain washed away / Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day / Why leave me standing here? / Let me know the way.' Released as a single in the U.S. (and oddly, not in the U.K.), 'The Long and Winding Road' went to the top of the charts. As of today, it's the band's last No. 1 song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100—but, as Beatles lore goes, it was meant for someone else: . Recently, Tim David Kelly, aka Tim From Kicking Harold, highlighted how McCartney and Tom Jones 'were having a great time' while out on the town. After a few drinks, Jones asked McCartney to write him a song. 'Paul, who very much enjoyed doing this type of thing, told his friend he'd be happy to write a song for him.' McCartney soon had the song ready and sent it over to Jones. But McCartney included a catch. 'The condition was that I could do it, but it had to be my next single,' Jones told Wales Onlinein 2013. 'Paul wanted it out straight away. At that time, I had a song called 'Without Love' that I was going to be releasing.' Jones asked his record label, which was 'gearing up' towards the release of 'Without Love,' if he could 'stop everything' so he could record this new song. 'They said it would take a lot of time, and it was impractical, so I ended up not doing it,' said Jones. 'I was kicking myself,' he said. 'I knew it was a strong song and of course it subsequently appeared on[Let It Be].' 'The Long and Winding Road' was a source of contention within the Beatles. McCartney—who already resented the band's manager, Allen Klein—was furious that Klein, apparently without consulting anyone in the band, had producer Phil Spector record the orchestral and choral overdubs to the song. McCartney wrote a letter to Klein and Spector, demanding that 'in the future, no one will be allowed to add to or subtract from a recording of one of my songs without my permission.' He also demanded changes to the version, ending his note with 'Don't ever do it again.'Why a '70s Singer Missed Out on Recording What Became the Beatles' Final Hit Song first appeared on Parade on Aug 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
This New London Bar Debuts A ‘Keystone Cocktail' Concept That Wows
Sprout, a newly-opened bar concept in London, with an innovative take on vegetal drinks. Sprout Vegetal cocktails have emerged as one of the year's most intriguing trends, bringing garden-fresh flavors to the forefront of mixology. Case in point: The Tomatotini — a vibrant, savory take on the classic martini that's captured the attention of bartenders, cocktail enthusiasts, and social feeds alike for what seems to be an eternity. But, the Tomatotini walked so that the Tomato Collins could run, it seems. Hidden amongst the muted colors and lush gardens in London's newly-opened Miiro Templeton Garden is Sprout, a new bar concept by renowned consultants Will Meredith and Ellie Camm. They not only brought the savory cocktail trend to Sprouts, but created a 'keystone cocktail' concept that is elevated, nuanced and innovative. 'The keystone cocktail idea came from wanting each drink to have a really clear identity. Instead of building a cocktail around a theme or a long list of ingredients, we start with one defining element — the keystone — and let everything else revolve around that,' says Meredith. And the keystone for many of these cocktails is vegetables, from tomatoes and onions (yes, onions), to gooseberries and anchovies. While developing this bar concept, Meredith explains that the team kept coming back to the idea that vegetables form the basis for so many culinary dishes, and once cooked release a host of unexpected flavors. 'They have so much character — more subtlety, more texture, and a natural savoriness that can help to balance drinks,' he says. But don't get it twisted — these cocktails aren't gimmicky or ostentatious. They are elegant and refined, perfect for a curious palate but familiar enough for a traditionalist. 'That balance is something we think about constantly. We never want the drinks to feel intimidating or too clever for their own good since at the end of the day, people are here to relax and enjoy themselves,' Meredith says. Unlike other cocktails that start behind the bar, these cocktails get started in the kitchen. To get the most flavor out of the vegetables, Meredith and bar manager Dominic Royle start by roasting them. The process is low and slow to avoid burning anything and to coax out the sugars and soften the bitterness. Meredith says that a bit of fat helps too, like a neutral oil or butter if it suits the ingredient, to help round out the flavor. This process, Meredith explains, pulls out all the depth and sweetness in a vegetable that you'd never get raw, adding texture and complexity to the finished beverage. 'It's not about making the drink taste like roasted vegetables, it's about using that process to bring out the best of the ingredient and let it play a more interesting role in the final flavor portfolio,' he adds. The menu is made up of the Market Stall, which are the bar's signature drinks and will be available year-round with an emphasis on quality. The specials will rotate in and out based on season and will be replaced as ingredients run their course. Favorites include the Tomato Collins and Sweet Pea Spritz, while the Squash Sour and Red Onion Martini have been sleeper hits. And, a Courgette Gibson and Rhubarb Ramos are always good ideas at Sprout. The interior of Sprout at the new Miiro Templeton Garden. James McDonald Matching the unassuming-yet-whimsical nature of the cocktail program is the bar itself, which constantly inspires Meredith and Royle, but also created the ethos in which these drinks thrive. 'Sprout is literally surrounded by greenery, and the whole vibe of Templeton Garden is this quiet, grounded elegance, so it made sense to work with ingredients that reflect that,' says Royle. He explains that when people leave Sprout, whether after one drink on the way to dinner or after a long evening of catching up with friends, he hopes they feel they have discovered something new. To do that, he works to ensure their experience is quite memorable from beginning to end. 'Sprout isn't trying to shout or show off — it's a calm, creative space where everything's been considered, but nothing feels forced. Hopefully, that comes through in the drinks, the music, the lighting, the way we chat with guests. It should feel like time well spent,' he says. Time well spent, indeed.
