Go to List

Oldest

Previous

Next

Newest

Cartoon Italia brings Marco Polo back to China
An Italian producers commission. The launch of a project for feature film about the Venetian merchant seen from a Chinese perspective.

The Italian Animation is looking for new market trade opportunities, especially with the East: following the incentive and relaunch of the International activity of ANICA fostered by the new President Francesco Rutelli, an Italian delegation of Cartoon Italia, the National Association of cartoon producers, has met the in Beijing most prestigious Chinese animation companies and Mr Yu Peixia, president of the National Association of the Chinese Animation producers.

The meetings focused on a variety of projects, in particular an Italian-Chinese co-production for a feature film on Marco Polo’s adventures, the author (with Rustichello da Pisa’s transcription) of “The Million” (or “Travels of Marco Polo”), an amazing tale of his journey to Asia along the Silk Road.

The project is part of a substantial  programme of trade relations, originating from the Business Forum Italy China (21st/22nd February) which will be opened in Beijing in the presence of President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.

Concerning the feature film, its goal is to recount the adventures of the Venetian merchant-traveller-writer-ambassador from the Chinese historians’ viewpoint. The project is to be officially launched at the Beijing International Film Festival, April 2017.

“Certain Italian companies - Anne Sophie Vanhollebeke, president of Cartoon Italia, says – are in the process of developing the script together with the China Animation Association under the valuable advice of Professor Giuseppina Merchionne, scientific consultant and lecturer in Linguistics and Chinese Culture at the Catholic University of Milan, who is going to carry out an investigation and exchange of perspective with the Chinese universities.

A large scale project on Marco Polo has, therefore, come to light following Cartoon Italia expedition to China, but not only: “the support of the Italian government – Vanhollebeke explains – facilitated the creation of a number of opportunities for coproduction work: a project on the painter Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit missionary who lived in China) and a project for a feature film “Anna Yueh and the Panda”, written by Sauro Tronconi (expert in Asian cultures). These projects have met the favour of Chinese representatives.”

As the coordinator of ICE (Foreign Trade Agency) audiovisual Desk, Roberto Stabile, says, “The mission is integral to the newly created audiovisual Desk of Beijing, recently opened by minister Dario Franceschini and it is the result of the synergy between the audiovisual associations and the ministries of Economics and Cultural Heritage, Istituto Luce and ICE, which allows us to support the sector enterprises, in their processes of internationalization, using a targeted and focused approach, according to their specific needs.”