First US producer of a China-centered film returns

A seminar on Inside Robert Carl Cohen's China was held in Beijing on June 27, during which experts in film production discussed the film and how to promote China stories in English.

The film was co-produced by the Changchun radio and TV station CCMG and Robert Cohen, the first American journalist allowed by the Chinese government to film Chinese society after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1957.

This newest film is about the 85-year-old Cohen's return to China after nearly 60 years, revisiting places he went to years ago and telling about the changes and development of China in his eyes.

Talking about why he chose CCMG to help him produce the documentary, Cohen said it was by accident.

"I stumbled across the name of the director of CCMG (Changchun Media Group) on Linkedin, told him there were scenes I'd filmed at the truck factory in that city in 1957," according to Cohen.

"We exchanged messages. I then sent him my proposal to return to film the vast changes which have taken place in Changchun and other areas since I filmed there for NBC-TV. CCMG responded by offering to co-produce my project, which they did."

During the seminar, many Chinese experts praised the film from all aspects such as the topic, the expression, and its important role in the promotion of China.

Liu Xiaoli, former director of China Central Television (CCTV), Military Channel, commented that the film was simple but vivid.

Meanwhile, he shared a part that impressed him.

"At the beginning of the film, Cohen's face was made up into the face of Monkey King. Everyone knows that Monkey King has an ability to change into 72 different figures, which seems to imply the great changes China has undertaken in the past several years."

Leng Song, general-secretary of the Journalism Institute's World Media Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said Cohen talks about China's changes plainly and calmly but the audience can feel his surprise and excitement through the cameras.