Collaborations with the Chinese will continue to increase in the coming years since China now represents the second largest film industry in the world. According to Forbes, in 2012 the U.S. saw $10.8 billion in revenue (6.5% increase over 2011) and China saw $2.7 billion (30.2% increase over 2011). The Chinese film industry is in its infant stages and is on pace to exceed U.S. box office by 2020.

In the U.S. there is one movie screen for every 9,000 people, suggesting the market is saturated. In China, the market is far from saturation with one screen for every 220,000 people.

Master Han, the “godfather” of the Chinese movie industry is looking for more industry professionals to collaborate and help improve their industry. “We must try and attract more foreign technologists, expertise, producers, investors, distributors, directors, actors and artists, to come and collaborate with us on high-quality co-productions. And then learn from them.”

With a large readership of international filmmakers from over 100 countries, I thought it might be helpful to post a link to the Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF). The deadline for entries is September 30, 2013, which is just around the corner.

CAFF is an independent organization that demonstrates to the world how effectively the Chinese and American cultures can join together to create great film. The festival also serves as a platform for international dialog and collaboration in film education, financing and production.

Events are held in Hollywood, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It includes the Golden Angel Awards, movie screenings, and forums. Hundreds of industry professionals attend from the U.S., Europe and Asia. The events are also a great place to improve brand awareness to Asian Americans and to those international decision makers in attendance.