Press conference for the Changchun Film Studio's 70th birthday, in Shanghai, on June 14. [Photo/ chinajilin.com.cn]

The Changchun Film Studio, in the city of Changchun, Jilin province will be reaching its 70th anniversary soon and has announced the start of related cultural events and the setting up of a "Cradle Fund" to support film making.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Shanghai, on June 14, where it was explained that the celebration activities will run through the coming months.

Taking part in the conference was Liu Lijuan, the studio chairman, who said that the "Cradle Fund" will have 1-billion yuan ($161 million) and be used to recognize outstanding screenwriters and directors and to honor works that tell China's story. The idea is to produce better films while bringing in film technology from around the globe and creating an industrial chain with education, financing, and online services.

Zhang Hongsen, head of China's Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television Administration's film department, also announced that the fund will improve the studio's competitiveness as a large culture business and will internationalize the Chinese film industry.

The studio, China's first, goes back to 1945 and has played a leading role in the industry for years, contributing many classics since its foundation. Some of the offerings for the 70th birthday are a 3D cartoon that will run on June 27, a romance, on August 20 for Chinese Valentine's Day, a suspense film at the end of the year, and a film dedicated specifically to the 70th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist War victory.

A 3D cartoon that will be in the theatre on June 27 by the studio [Photo/ chinajilin.com.cn]

In October, there will also be a concert at the studio's music hall, using its own orchestra, and some well-known artists who got their start in the studio expected to attend. There are also plans for remakes of some classic films, 3D cartoons, and films with an ancient setting, and a project that combines film resources from the United States, Japan, and South Korea, with the prominent US director James Cameron and his team asked to participate in some of the works.