Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park [file photo]

Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park (Wuxi Studio), also known as the Collywood which means "Chinese Hollywood”, formally opened On May 29, 2012.

On March 16, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Jiangsu provincial government signed a strategic cooperation agreement which set out their commitment to build Wuxi Studio, a state-level industrial park covering an area of 6 square kilometers.

It is hoped that Wuxi Studio, also known as “Collywood”, will become an international export base for digital film, for both production and processing, based on high-end digital equipment and facilities and a digital film cultural communication base.

However, Wuxi Studio’s costs, including publishing-related costs, total around 10 billion yuan (US $1.6 billion) and this, along with other issues, has raised questions regarding the studio.

According to industry figures, there are currently more than 1,000 film studios in China. In addition, a survey by the Institute for Cultural Industries, Peking University Television Center shows that more than 80 percent of the domestic film base is running at a loss, raising the question of whether Collywood is a dying edifice or a growing concern.

Risks and obstacles

Wei Pengju, the Executive Dean of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that the building of Collywood at this time would be a waste of money and resources, especially in light of China’s current economic situation.

In addition, the concept of Collywood is not unique in China. The State Production Base of China’s Film Group was founded in Huairou, Beijing, in 2008 and over the past three years has occupied a prominent position in terms of domestic film production, with media reports suggestion that more than half of all domestic films were made in Huairou during this period. As a result, it could become Collywood’s chief competitor.

There are also question marks regarding the cultivation of industry talents in China. Qi Yongfeng, Director of Academic Committee of Institute for Cultural Industries at Communication University of China, believes that China’s education system is currently unable to provide enough qualified, well-trained management and artistic talents for the film and television industry, and that this is a problem which will certainly afflict Collywood.

In addition, Collywood offers little incentive to the increasing number of foreign companies entering the Chinese market, with post-production companies favoring Thailand due to lower costs and the entry into the low-budget film market of Korean post-production companies HFR and MIX will further squeeze Chinese companies.

Technology is also a problem. Compared to the U.S. and Canada, for example, existing domestic technology lags far behind and it is no easy matter to introduce advanced foreign technology. “The majority of domestic technical staff must work with cheap and heavy equipment, which affects overall competitiveness,” Director Zhang Xu said.

Collywood’s future is fraught with risks and challenges with increasingly fierce market competition.

Development and opportunities

In a more optimistic vein, Qi Yongfeng said that although more than half of film bases are struggling due to insufficient funds, Collywood’s entry into the industry is well-timed and in line with the development trend of the film industry.

Within the next 3-5 years, there are plans for Wuxi Studio to house approximately 500 film companies along with 30,000-50,000 experts and talents from related industries. The studio will also apply to release more than 10 international films and make as many as 40 domestic films or TV series each year. It is estimated that the annual output value of film production and new media business will total approximately 20 billion yuan (US $3.1Billion).

It is crucial, therefore, that Collywood attracts top industry talents. Professor Huan Shixian of the Beijing Film Academy stressed that talent, not hardware, was the key to success.

Wuxi studio will cooperate with a number of world-famous universities to build its digital media training base, and will also forge links with American and European film manufacturers, as well as leading domestic film companies in order to construct a complete system of filmmaking and talent scouting operation.

So far, around 60 companies in film and television industry have located at Wuxi Studio, including many famous enterprises, such as the 3D production company Beijing Smart Strength Culture Media Co., Ltd., which produced the popular movie "Painted Skin."

The true test for Wuxi will be whether or not it can attract and develop top talents and attract further enterprises, leading to the development and growth of the industry as a whole.

By Qu Yi