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Funny gamblers hit cinemas in February

Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat will reprise his classic portrayal of "god of gamblers" in The Man from Macao, a comedy to be released in February 2014. Chow again teams up with Wong Jing, the director of the hit franchise God of Gamblers in the late 1980s. There will still be parts of the film set in the casinos, but it will not be a film only about gambling, says Wong. Young actress Jing Tian will play Chow's gambling partner and Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse his disciple.

Nanjing from the eyes of filmmaker wannabes

Discovery Channel and Nanjing recently launched "Nanjing Calling: Discovery's First Time Filmmakers Initiative", a project aimed at finding five talented filmmakers from Asia to help document Nanjing, a city with a unique history and culture. The documentaries are expected to uncover interesting stories of today's Nanjing from a human angle. Filmmakers in and outside China, who are interested in the project, need to submit a 30-minute outline of their proposed documentary, production plan and budget before Jan 23.

Young and talented get a master's help

Renowned writer Lu Wei, scriptwriter of Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine and Zhang Yimou's To Live, has signed up with Goldsome Pictures as mentors to cultivate young talent. Working with established director Huang Jianxin and Ning Ying, Lu will tutor three new directors for three years on three to five projects. Goldsome Pictures is the new name of domestic studio and distributor Shengshi Huarui after Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co, Ltd became its largest shareholder in August. Shengshi Huarui's most successful projects include Painted Skin and Ip Man. The first film Goldsome will release is fantasy epic Ice Man 3-D, starring Donnie Yen, on April 4.

Creative solutions for the world

The 2014 Enactus World Cup will be held in Beijing in October 2014, co-hosted by the China People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. This is the first time the global activity will be held in China. The global non-profit organization Enactus works to connect students, educators and business leaders for creative ideas that focus on solving problems for small communities worldwide. It has invited students around the world to take part in the annual Enactus World Cup since 2001. The teams present the results of their projects to the judging panel during the final stage, which usually includes a number of Fortune 500 CEOs. Shanghai University of International Business and Economics won the 2006 Enactus World Cup in Paris with the project "Design Studio for Disabled People".

China Daily

(China Daily USA 12/27/2013 page14)