Chinese filmmakers are struggling with bureaucratic hurdles and different audience expectations in international co-productions, according to panelists at a “Belt and Road” discussion at SIFForum, the Shanghai International Film Festival’s industry dialogue sessions.

Yan Peng, deputy general manager of state-owned Huaxia Film Distribution suggested major regulatory and copyright issues impact Chinese producers seeking co-productions abroad.

“Differences exist across different regions regarding regulations on co-production project approval qualifications, lead-to-supporting actor ratios, investment proportions, and film censorship content,” said Yan.  “From copyright to derivative IP rights, issues of inconsistency often exist. Also, distribution cycles and currency settlements across theatrical, streaming, and TV ends also differ which leads to cumbersome cross-border accounting.”

Yan also went on to suggest that differences in audience preferences, working customs and societal taboos often led to extended production cycles and fragmented release strategies.

Xie Meng, founder of arthouse distributor Rediance, emphasized that audiences preferences were moving from the global to the local.

“Films all tell stories about people, about nations, ethnicities, and cultures,” said Xie. “We’ve been saying that it seems audiences in the Chinese market don’t love watching foreign large-production blockbusters as much anymore. Everyone is focusing more on stories that are closer and more specific to people, whether domestic [local] or foreign.”

In this environment, how producers reach audiences is getting more fragmented, threatening to make traditional distribution obsolete.

“We’ve seen audience’s demand increase for films from more diverse countries and richer genres. Perhaps a more important breakthrough is regarding how traditional distribution can better satisfy audience demands,” said Yan. “The past method of indiscriminate, simplified distribution is seeing its role weaken.”

The importance, and relative lack of experience in new forms of distribution was echoed by Mohannad Al-Bakri, Managing Director of the Royal Film Commission – Jordan.

“In the Arab region to this day, distribution is not our strong suit. Especially if we look at the distribution model in China, this is a market we are trying to learn from and seeking to seize opportunities in,” said Al-Bakri.

“We’ve also seen extreme changes in distribution methods. For example, you have platforms like Netflix that cover all parts of the world. It is the same in the Arab world. Sometimes, in terms of content investment, it seems to be easier; making investments through these channels seems to be easier, and it can more easily obtain better returns on investment,” he added.