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Chinese films can compete with foreign movies, says expert

The share of Chinese films is gradually increasing, expert noted

SANYA, December 6. /TASS/. Chinese movies can compete with foreign movies, said Michael Ellis, president and managing director for Asia-Pacific Region for the Motion Picture Association.

According to the expert, movies from China are very popular abroad.

"The share of Chinese films is gradually increasing. Chinese films can already compete with foreign movies, and foreign audience also loves watching movies from China", said Ellis speaking at a forum on the sidelines of the Hainan Film Festival.

"In 2017 China released 1082 films, 902 of those being feature films, 51 - animated movies, 11 - films in special genre", he went on to say. "That is why it is safe to say not only does China launch movies, but these movies are also very different, they show Chinese cinematographers' vision and their ambitions", Ellis noted.

He also pointed out that "China is one of the world leaders in box office". According to him, last year "the box office amounted to $8.8 bln, about a half of which falls on Chinese films".

"I am confident that by the end of 2019 the indicators will increase even more", said Ellis. "Growing Chinese cinema market is good news not only for China's, but for global market as well", Ellis concluded.

For the first time, the Hainan Island International Film Festival was held in December in 2018. It was attended by such world-famous actors and directors as Jackie Chan, Aamir Khan, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The film festival is held with the support of the Hainan administration with the approval of the propaganda department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

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