China Film Festival 2024 opens in London

Rupert Daniels, director for services and skills at the UK Department for Business and Trade, talked about the support that the UK government has given to the creative industry, in particular the international cooperation in the film sector.

The UK had record investment in the film production sector with more than 6.5 billion pounds ($8.15 billion) invested in UK film and TV production last year, Daniels said, adding that there are new incentives to make films in the UK in the spring budget.

"We are really encouraging people all over the world to come to the UK, and not only come here, but to create co-productions. And I think this is the spirit of the agreement which we signed about 10 years ago between the UK and China on co-producing movies, television … and the opportunities to spread the word around UK and China. And the collaboration in films and television is fantastic," he said at the opening ceremony.

China's film market has made a quick recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the China Film Administration, the box office revenue of 2023 hit 54.915 billion yuan ($7.73 billion), surpassing that of 2022, which was 29.949 billion yuan.