Deputy Minister of Culture of Brazil: Use film as a medium to promote cultural exchanges, mutual learning and people-to-people bonds between Brazil and China

People’s Daily Online, Beijing, April 24 (Fu Yuanyuan, Lu Yang, Guna) “The Brazilian films screened this time well present the diversity of Brazilian culture. We hope to use film as a medium to further promote Brazilian-Chinese culture exchanges and enhance people-to-people ties between the two countries,” Cassius Rosa, Deputy Minister of Culture of Brazil, said in an exclusive interview with People’s Daily Online during the 14th Beijing International Film Festival.

Cassius Rosa, Deputy Minister of Culture of Brazil, accepted an exclusive interview with People’s Daily Online.Photo by People.com reporter Fu Yuanyuan

From April 18th to April 26th, the 14th Beijing International Film Festival was held in Beijing. As the guest country of this year’s film festival, Brazil has brought four high-quality films to the Chinese audience: “Ghost Portrait”, “Mars One”, “Second Mother” and “Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Turmoil”.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. Rosa believes that Brazil being the guest country of this film festival is a milestone in the development of relations between the two countries. This will not only deepen the exchanges and mutual learning between Brazil and China in the field of culture, but also contribute to the economy and trade between the two countries. Cooperation brings greater opportunities. For example, Rosa said that “Nice: Crazy Heart,” the first Brazilian film officially imported into China, was screened in about 400 theaters in China, while “My Mom is a Character,” which broke the box office record in Brazil, only had a total of only 400 theaters in China. It was released in about 600 theaters. “This shows that the market size of China’s film and television industry is very large, which also means that there is still broad space for Bazhong film and television cooperation.”

Rosa emphasized that cultural exchanges are an important part of bilateral relations. China is Brazil’s main trading partner. However, compared with the close economic and trade relations between the two countries, the understanding between the two peoples of each other is not deep enough. “We hope to promote people-to-people connections between Pakistan and China through exchanges in film, literature and art.”

During the film festival, Rosa visited the National China Film Digital Production Base and was highly impressed by the development of the Chinese film industry. He praised that China’s film industry has not only achieved breakthroughs at the technical level, but also the market’s prosperity is eye-catching, “China has 86,000 movie screens, which not only demonstrates the vitality of China’s film market, but also reflects the strength of its audio-visual production. “

In recent years, China and Brazil have continued to deepen film and television cooperation. In 2017, China and Brazil signed the “Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil on Cooperation in Film Production”; in 2023, during Brazilian President Lula’s visit to China, the two countries signed the “Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil on Film Cooperation”; Television Co-Production Agreement”.

Rosa said that in addition to cooperation in film and television content, he also hopes to have in-depth exchanges with Chinese counterparts in film and television production technology in the future. “We hope to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in terms of personnel training and exchanges so that we can learn from each other’s preservation techniques of image materials, thereby ensuring that the film history materials of both countries are better preserved.”

Talking about his expectations for cultural exchanges between China and Brazil, Rosa expressed the hope that Chinese audiences can learn more about Brazilian culture by watching Brazilian movies, and also welcomes Chinese tourists to travel to Brazil. “Brazil is a passionate nation, and we will use the greatest enthusiasm to Welcome Chinese friends, just like we feel in China.”