PNCA hopes to see Chinese films in Pakistani cinemas

Islamabad: Chinese films’ display on Pakistani cinema screens will help diversify the content for Pakistani audiences, said Jamal Shah, director general, Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA).

Talking to APP in connection with Chinese Film Festival which was currently continuing at PNCA, he said, “We need to get out of Bollywood and Hollywood movies to educate our audiences through entertainment and move towards Iranian, Turkish and Chinese cinema.”

He said if Chinese films would be released in Pakistan, adding it would help our local cinema industry not only in terms of entertainment but from economical aspect as well. Jamal Shah said these exchanges would eventually lead towards co-productions between the two countries.

“We will have Chinese productions here and vise versa,” he said. Jamal Shah said both Pakistan and China shared similar cultural heritage. “Both the nations contribute to mutual relationship since the beginning of their diplomatic relationship that only got better over the years,” he added.

Talking about the festival, he said the reason to encourage this festival was to boost the chances of Pakistani films getting the same space on Chinese cinema screens. The DG PNCA said they had films exchanges with Germany, USA and European Union (EU) but it was almost nonexistent with Pakistani films.

“China is one of the biggest film markets across the world. It will benefit Pakistani cinema immensely if we get the chance to display our content in China,” he said. He said that Pakistani cinema culture was fading away but with the revival of cinema in last few years has given the hope that it could rejuvenate itself on its own.