This year coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt. As the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Egypt and China have maintained close humanistic interactions and cultural exchanges for a long time. This summer's hit film "Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant" has become the most lively film and television exchange between China and Egypt.
In order to truly present the humanistic features and living conditions of ordinary people in the Arab region, the crew of "Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant" visited Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries many times, insisting on respecting cultural details and restoring the true texture during creation. Nearly 200 exotic-style buildings were built in the real scene, completely restoring the style of a Middle Eastern town. The crew specially conducted a large-scale actor audition in Cairo, Egypt. The cumulative number of overseas applicants exceeded 13,700, and dozens of local Egyptian actors were finally selected to participate in the filming. Among them, Egyptian teenage actor Omar Sharif plays an important role in the film - Saiful. His native language performance, original demeanor and emotional expression that fit the regional culture make the characters in the film more three-dimensional and real.
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif: I am very happy to be loved by the Chinese audience. After I contacted the crew, I found that their goals were clear and the crew was professional and excellent. This strengthened my confidence in playing this role well. China and Egypt are both countries with ancient civilizations, and the two peoples share the same love for food, home, life, and peace.
During the filming, the Chinese and Egyptian creative teams collaborated in depth throughout the entire process. Egyptian actors and cultural consultants participated in polishing the details of the script and checking folk customs and etiquette to ensure that the cultural expression of the film was rigorous and accurate; the Chinese crew conducted four months of performance training for the Egyptian protagonists, providing complete life support and cultural adaptation services for the foreign actors and actresses, creating an inclusive and interoperable transnational creative atmosphere. The film also incorporates elements of Egyptian classic music, using audio-visual art to connect the characteristics of the two civilizations.
Director Wen Muye: We went to the Middle East at least 5 to 6 times for research. In this process, in addition to local characteristics, the most important thing is people's hearts. When emotional communication is smooth enough, verbal communication becomes very secondary. "Eat well" is a Chinese concept of peace, a simple but powerful thing. We try our best to make the values we convey and the Chinese people’s view of peace better understood and seen by domestic and foreign audiences.
The success of the film is a vivid epitome of the continuous deepening of China-Egypt film and television exchanges in recent years. In recent years, the film and television cooperation between the two countries has become more normalized and diversified, and they have continued to organize film weeks, youth short film exhibitions, film and television boutique screenings and other activities in each other's country. Recently, the "Silk Road Lights and Shadows" exhibition of Chinese films in Egypt hosted by the main station kicked off. In order to further deepen the cooperation between China and Egypt in the field of film, the main station and the Cairo International Film Festival have reached an intention to deepen cooperation.
The box office exceeded 2 billion
"Welcome to Dragon's Restaurant" will be released worldwide
The movie "Welcome to Dragon Restaurant" has continued to gain popularity and box office since its release. So far, the film's box office has exceeded 2 billion yuan (including pre-sales).
Previously, the producers of "Welcome to Dragon's Restaurant" announced that they would launch distribution in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas.
It will be released in Hong Kong, China and Macau, China on September 11.
Released in Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia on September 11;
Released in Singapore on September 17;
Released in Japan on September 18;
It is planned to meet audiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and the Philippines in October.
"Welcome to Dragon Restaurant" is no longer telling Chinese stories on the world stage, but in the flames of "Dragon Restaurant", it has realized the transformation from "Chinese version of Chinese stories" to "Chinese version of world stories".
Chinese films will continue to use light and shadow to convey the warmth of peace to the world, and also allow the world to understand this humanistic sentiment originating from the East.
(CCTV News Client, CCTV reporters Liu Xiaoyue, Shi Yilong, Nie Jicheng)
