China, South Korea should strengthen cooperation in films: Chinese director

Chinese director Xu Lei said at the XPLUS Chinese Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday that China and South Korea share similar culture and hopefully more Chinese films can be released overseas. Xu said he looks forward to more cooperation between China and South Korea in the film market.

Xu's film Summer Detective was selected as the opening premiere for the film festival. It's a comedy about a farmer disguised as a village detective. 

The film's male lead is a non-professional actor, allowing for a unique angle to reinterpret Chinese rural life.

When talking about whether he was worried that Korean audiences might have trouble understanding a Chinese rural story, he said "China and South Korea are relatively close to each other. We have a natural interconnection from location and cultural origins and it would be a pity if we couldn't understand each other's films."

Poster of Nothing but Thirty Photo: VCG

"I love Korean movies and my favorite Korean actor is Song Kang Ho. I really hope that there will be more cooperation between the two sides in the film industry and look forward to working together," Xu said. 

Media reports have said that Chinese stories and culture are receiving more attention overseas, with works such as Nothing But Thirty and The Legend of Fei becoming popular in South Korea.

Xu said he hoped that Korean audiences could watch Chinese films with an open mind as Chinese people know more about Korean films than Korean people know about Chinese films.

The Chinese film market is especially mature in the genres of science fiction and suspense.

"I think we can promote some excellent Chinese films that foreign audiences can understand and are willing to watch, so as to tell the story of China in the new era through films," Xu noted.