Highlights

Maritime Silk Road Made its Debut on the 3rd SRIFF

Time:2016-09-23 15:11:10 Font Setting: Large Medium Small

    On September 22, Stephen Shin (renowned director) and Lee Hok Bun (producer) were present on the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival for the film Maritime Silk Road.

    Shin described the Maritime Silk Road an “exceptional film”, which can be traced from its theme and contents.

    The film depicts the pioneering voyage of Zheng He with his treasure fleet (containing over 200 boats and 27,000 sailors, with his boat bigger than today’s football field) to the Western Ocean over 600 years ago. It is miraculous for all the boats keeping consistent in steps without wireless radio or GPS. With extraordinary vigour, they crossed South China Sea, Strait of Malacca and even the Indian Ocean, and finally arrived at the East Coast of Africa.

    The fully armed fleet had never meant to expand, but to spread friendship and peace to all the neighbours. While bridging the gaps, striking pirates and keeping maritime safety, the fleet successfully publicized the advanced civilization of the Chinese nation. Such grand voyage effectively transferred the interaction center of human civilization from the land to the ocean and contributed to the establishment of maritime silk road. Zheng He is still a great image for some countries along the road.

    At the press, a historian from Malaysia explained the significance of Zheng He’s treasure voyage, especially the deep influences to the countries in Southeast Asia.

    In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the strategic concept of “One Belt & One Road”, namely to set up the “New Silk Road Economic Belt” and “ 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road”, which endowed the film with more realistic and profound meanings. In other words, the Maritime Silk Road will be a film showing the “future from the past 600 years”.

    Regardless of its profound meanings and contributions, the treasure voyage contained various dramatic, impressive and fantastic stories, which are the inspirations for this exceptional film.

    It took Mr. Shin ten years to conceive and create the film, during which he also paid a visit to Gavin Menzies, the author of 1421: The Year China Discovered the World. In 2005, he directed the grand a stage play Zheng He and the Emperor shown at Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, which is honored as a “magnificent play with delicate costumes and props and rich contents”. He took the pioneering and authoritative work in the theme on maritime silk road.

    Besides preparing the shooting of Maritime Silk Road, he is planning to publish relevant books and make documentaries with China Film Press, and to build the “One Belt & One Road Pavilion” with modern holographic and VR technology and based on the history of Zheng He’s treasure voyage, so as to demonstrate the exotic culture and interesting knowledge.

    For now, most concerns are paid to the production of this film, especially the actors/actresses. Mr. Shin implied that an international star agreed to play Zheng He, and the other leading characters were also finalized, which cannot be disclosed for now.

    As for the shooting plans, Mr. Shin said that the film will cost over RMB300 million and be completed within two years in the primitive forest and islands of Southeast Asia. He also stressed that the film is meant to show the true history with all possible technologies and resources and worthy of the dreams of filmmakers. To sum up, this film will be bring you a new adventurous experience of “oriental Avatar” amid the treasure voyage.

    The trailers of Maritime Silk Road played on the press impressed all of the audiences and raised people’s expectations on its excellence.

    This exceptional film is now a miracle we are waiting for!

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