KEY POINTS:
A group which has been taking New Zealand films to China since 2002 is holding a standalone festival for the first time, and believes it is the start of bigger things to come for the New Zealand and China film industries.
On Monday, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey leaves for Ningbo, in China's Zhejiang province, where he will talk to Chinese movie-makers about a joint venture with New Zealand to co-produce two feature films.
The Pacific Culture and Arts Exchange Centre is preparing for New Zealand's first solo film festival in China in June.
Previously, the festival was a fringe event of the Shanghai Film Festival.
"The free trade agreement has generated a lot of interest in New Zealand back in China, and we felt it was time to hold a New Zealand film festival which could support the objectives of our two countries," said exchange centre chairman Jim He.
"For many Chinese, these films will be the closest they will get to experience New Zealand culture, and we hope it can also generate interest in the Chinese business community in considering business in New Zealand as well."
Mr He said China's lifting of the ban on foreign investments in television and film production companies, and recent announcements of its intentions to commercialise newspapers and television, opens up a "whole world of opportunities".
"An average Chinese person watches between 10 and 16 films a year," he said.
"In box office alone, the potential is over US$1.5 billion ($1.9 billion)."
Five movies - Eagle vs Shark, Out of the Blue, No. 2, End of the Golden Weather and The Tattooist - and five short films will be screened in the cities of Ningbo, Xian and China's Olympic city Beijing between June 1 and 22.
Mr Harvey said he was "extremely supportive" of the festival and was prepared to put his name behind it.
"China is the country of the 21st century, and what better way is there to share our Kiwi culture with their people than through movies," said Mr Harvey, who is a former member of the New Zealand Film commission.
On his trip to China next week, the mayor said he would talk to people from the "Hollywood industry of China" about producing two movies, one on China-based New Zealand philanthropist Rewi Alley and other on Kathleen Hall, a New Zealand missionary nurse in China.
Mr Harvey was impressed with the resources and the potential of the Chinese movie industry when he visited a military film unit - spread over 120ha - last year.
The Asia New Zealand Foundation is providing the financial backing for the festival, and the foundation's culture project officer, Monica Turner, said screening of New Zealand movies in China would be one of the best ways to "build a bridge" between the two countries and cultures.
"China is the future economic power of the world, and it is important that we keep our links with them really strong," she said.
This will be the fourth time since 2002 the exchange centre will screen New Zealand films in China.
