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Being Chinese | I’m a Cannes-going Chinese showbiz producer. It’s fun – except when it isn’t

I make deals with international studios and platforms. Often, I face a wall of Western presumption about the Chinese way of doing things

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Chinese actress Fan Bingbing arrives for a screening at the Cannes film festival in 2023. Being a Chinese entertainment deal maker with a cross-border focus is less fun and exciting in reality. Photo: AFP

As a bilingual producer with over a decade of experience in China’s entertainment industry and a focus on international collaboration, I can say without hesitation that a big part of my job involves explaining things over and over again.

Mostly I explain what we, as Chinese players in the industry, can do or want to do with our international counterparts. And then, when necessary, I explain the other side to the Chinese side. Essentially, on top of my usual job as a content producer, I’m a professional translator – not just of languages, but of mindsets, expectations and industry norms.

To zoom in further, I am basically the person who facilitates cross-border collaborations with international studios, streaming platforms, television stations and production companies. Sounds fun and exciting, right? It is – except when it isn’t.

Let me give a perfect example of what I mean. A few years ago, I was having an initial discussion with a British studio I was newly acquainted with. One of my key responsibilities was commissioning projects, which, in this case, meant buying out the studio’s share in the project – a common industry practice. But when I proposed this model to the British, their reaction was … well, dramatic, to say the least.

I got an email from an executive stating that my suggestion was “illegal” and urging me to consult a lawyer. Of course, I did not consult a lawyer, but she made me feel like I had accidentally borrowed a method from a mafia playbook, thereby offending or perhaps even terrifying my dear colleague across the aisle.

Fast-forward a year and I received another email from that same studio: the same executive, a very different tone. This time, she told me she now understood my proposal – because, surprise, surprise, she had heard of the exact same deal structure from a well-known American company. Suddenly, the shocking, “illegal” deal I had proposed was more than legitimate. It’s amazing how quickly a perspective shifts when the same concept comes from the “right” person.

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