Capturing Beijing through the viewfinder

[Photo/China Daily]

Huang says she is reduced to a Chinese stereotype of a girl struggling from a life transition from a poor town to a big city at first. But White says it has nothing to do with where the heroine comes from and whether she's poor or not. It's a story about a girl opening her mind to a new life.

"It's very usual for Chinese to shoot the conflict between the poor and the rich. But the international audience can be more identified with White's idea. That's what a story on Beijing should be," says the 25-year-old producer.

During the one-week stay in Beijing, the US script writers and Chinese video teams have compromised, exchanged ideas and been inspirations by each other.

Selander says the biggest impression was made by the people in Beijing. Their hardworking and talent makes him think of people he worked with as a screenwrite in Hollywood.

"There are cultural differences: the food, the language, but these are surface distinctions.

"The Chinese I met all have the same concerns as Americans: job, school, family and traffic," says Selander.

Special: 2013 Beijing International Screenwriting Competition