As part of 47th Moscow International Film Festival, the Russian company Gazprom-Media Holding and the Chinese company Xicheng Media Company announced the start of a joint production of the film with a draft title Allies. The press conference was attended by General Director, Gazprom-Media Holding, the general producer of the film Alexander Zharov, General Director, Xicheng Media, Zhang Di, General Director, Central Partnership, the general producer of the film Vadim Vereschagin, the director and script writer Ding Sheng, the script writer Sergey Minayev.
Alexander Zharov: "For all these years, we have been looking for a Chinese partner to make a full-length film with. With Ms. Zhang Di, the head of Xicheng Media, we managed to find common values, a complementary creative potential and this means a strong interest for cooperation and mutual projects. Within the year, we discussed the details of what we will do and, finally, opted for a film about the Great Patriotic War and the Sino-Japanese War. This will be a joint production by a Russian and a Chinese team. We are now at the development stage and in June we are planning to discuss the director's script, film budget and the production timeframe. The draft title of the film is Allies, we will come up with a final one during the production and at that point we will also decide if the film will have the same title when released in Russia and China or a different name for both countries".
Zhang Di: "We started production of a film about the Great Patriotic War and the Sino-Japanese War, as this period is important for the history of our countries. We would like that in Russia people know that the Chinese people remember about the assistance they received from the Soviet people in the war with Japan. We must work to successfully make the film and understand that the film must have an artistic value, but we need to shoot it in a way to attract attention, including of young spectators".
Sergey Minayev: "I like Chinese history very much and I accepted the invitation to this project with great pleasure. This film is about the time in mid 1930s when Soviet pilots flew to China, at the moment of Japan's intervention, and the Soviet pilots helped the Chinese to fight the attacks during the Sino-Japanese War".
Vadim Vereschagin: "We are planning a large-scale production, which involves building models of machines and aircraft of that time, as many of them are in museums and are not available to shoot air fighting. We will also model full-size models of machines used at that time. Together with Ding Sheng and the team, we have already been to Moskino where some of the shooting will take place and visited war museums, including the museum on Poklonka, to have a closer look at the equipment, weapon, costumes of that time, as Ding Sheng is very picky about details".
Ding Sheng: "I have two important tasks. First, I would like the Chinese audience to learn more about this story, because earlier films were made only about U.S. pilots helping China, but few people know about the role of Soviet pilots in the struggle with the Japanese invaders. Second, I would like to find a specific visual solution so that spectators both in Russia and China watch this film with pleasure".
Alexander Zharov: "For all these years, we have been looking for a Chinese partner to make a full-length film with. With Ms. Zhang Di, the head of Xicheng Media, we managed to find common values, a complementary creative potential and this means a strong interest for cooperation and mutual projects. Within the year, we discussed the details of what we will do and, finally, opted for a film about the Great Patriotic War and the Sino-Japanese War. This will be a joint production by a Russian and a Chinese team. We are now at the development stage and in June we are planning to discuss the director's script, film budget and the production timeframe. The draft title of the film is Allies, we will come up with a final one during the production and at that point we will also decide if the film will have the same title when released in Russia and China or a different name for both countries".
Zhang Di: "We started production of a film about the Great Patriotic War and the Sino-Japanese War, as this period is important for the history of our countries. We would like that in Russia people know that the Chinese people remember about the assistance they received from the Soviet people in the war with Japan. We must work to successfully make the film and understand that the film must have an artistic value, but we need to shoot it in a way to attract attention, including of young spectators".
Sergey Minayev: "I like Chinese history very much and I accepted the invitation to this project with great pleasure. This film is about the time in mid 1930s when Soviet pilots flew to China, at the moment of Japan's intervention, and the Soviet pilots helped the Chinese to fight the attacks during the Sino-Japanese War".
Vadim Vereschagin: "We are planning a large-scale production, which involves building models of machines and aircraft of that time, as many of them are in museums and are not available to shoot air fighting. We will also model full-size models of machines used at that time. Together with Ding Sheng and the team, we have already been to Moskino where some of the shooting will take place and visited war museums, including the museum on Poklonka, to have a closer look at the equipment, weapon, costumes of that time, as Ding Sheng is very picky about details".
Ding Sheng: "I have two important tasks. First, I would like the Chinese audience to learn more about this story, because earlier films were made only about U.S. pilots helping China, but few people know about the role of Soviet pilots in the struggle with the Japanese invaders. Second, I would like to find a specific visual solution so that spectators both in Russia and China watch this film with pleasure".