Ambassador Sun pointed out that film as a modern art is loved by people all around the world. In 2015, China continues to be the 2nd largest international film market and the most vibrant film market in the world, registering an explosive growth of its film industry. As the relations between China and the international community are ever-deepening, more and more Chinese citizens go abroad. Some Chinese directors turn their attention to the stories of the Chinese people living abroad, further enriching the subjects of Chinese films.
Ambassador Sun said that the film Somewhere Only We Know tells a Chinese love story in Prague, capital city of Czech. China and Czech, though far apart, enjoy strong bonds of friendship. Chinese President H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Czech in March 2016, promoting our bilateral relations a notch higher. Our cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation are especially eye-catching. A great number of Czech cultural works such as literature, movies and cartoon are introduced into China, which enjoy high popularity among Chinese people. Prague now has become one of the favorite destinations for Chinese tourists. Last year, China became the largest source of tourists to Czech outside EU, with some 300 thousand tourists visiting Czech.
Ambassador Fuchsova said that Czech film has a long history and the Czech international film festival is world-renowned. The 20th Century witnessed the emergence of many first-class Czech film makers like Jirimenzel, Milos Forman, all Oscar award winning directors, and the Barrandov Studios emerged as a very important partner for many foreign movie production companies. The Czech film industry is striving with the help from the Czech government there has been established a film reward mechanism. The movie tonight is an important fruit of China-Czech film cooperation. Mrs. Xu Jinglei chose Prague not only because Prague is considered as one of the most beautiful in the world but also because Prague recently began to attract more and more Chinese business and tourists. The March visit to the Czech Republic by Chinese president H.E. Xi Jinping was marked by the signing of mutual agreements on strategic business cooperation in various fields. The realm of cultural exchange between our two countries is now expanding. This year Prague will celebrate Chinese New Years with Chinese people again.
Minister Ofosu-Agyare said that films are the quintessential representation of a people's beliefs, mores attitudes and indeed, culture. They reflect a people's way of life. Therefore, film remains a veritable tool for the projection of the image of a country on the global stage, and for the promotion of tourism. Films are used to affirm enrich and preserve the socio-cultural beliefs of a people. Films are a major avenue for creating national unity and ensuring national cohesion. They can be used to safeguard and promote the moral, ethical and aesthetic values of society. The new Film Development Bill will promote the development of Ghana film industry to make Ghana a preferred location for international film makers. She hopes that the co-productions between Ghanaian-Chinese and Ghanaian-Czech film producers could be published as soon as possible.
After the reception, guests watched Somewhere Only We Know directed by Mrs. Xu Jinglei. The love stories of two generations of people of China and Czech in the movie deeply moved all the audience. When the movie finished, the guests discussed their views with each other.