Discovery Networks Asia, Visa Roll Out Series of Short Films

SINGAPORE/BEIJING,
September 18: Discovery Networks Asia, with the cooperation of Visa, the main
Olympic sponsor, today premiered six short films shot in Olympic cities at the
Wanda Cinema in Beijing, showcasing China’s top filmmaking talent.

The short films are the
result of a four-month program, A Journey of Adventures and Dreams, where six
young Chinese filmmakers produced a series of five-minute short films with the
theme “The Unexpected,” in six former Olympic host cities: Rome, Seoul, Los
Angeles, Mexico City, Tokyo and Sydney. The filmmakers were given four months
to organize their own international production crew and produce a short film
that told the unique point of view of a young Chinese filmmaker experiencing
“the unexpected” in these cities. Of the six filmmakers chosen, four—Zhao
Liang, Long Miaoyuan, Xu Jun and Liu Chang—were winners of Discovery
Channel’s First Time Filmmakers China initiative. The other two are independent
filmmaker Lai He and the director team of Johnny Tan/Kelly Pon.

Following the premiere in
Beijing, Travel Satellite TV will air the short films on the Discovery Travel
& Living block from September 27 to November 1.

“Discovery Channel has
been championing young filmmakers across Asia and China over the last five
years through initiatives like First Time Filmmakers,” said Fang Chang, the VP
of Discovery Networks Asia and general manager for China. “Now we are proud to
introduce to Visa some of our first time filmmakers in China for this special
project, to help the filmmakers’ broaden their experience in filmmaking.
Through this initiative, Discovery is able to provide Chinese filmmakers with
yet another platform to showcase their work to the world, and further reinforces
our commitment to helping develop local filmmaking talent. This is a fantastic
lead up to the Olympics as the eyes of the world are on China as the nation
prepares for the Games.”