Press release from Buzz Corporate Communications
CinéfestOZ Film Festival 2011 is pleased to announce that it will host the Western Australian premiere of The Dragon Pearl with Emmy award-winning director Mario Andreacchio confirmed to speak about his trailblazing project.
In its fourth year, CinéfestOZ (24 – 28 August 2011) showcases the best of Australian and French independent film against a stunning south-west backdrop.
The Dragon Pearl stars Sam Neill and tells the story of teenagers Josh and Ling joining their respective parents, Chris (Neill) and Dr Li (Wang Ji) on an archaeological dig in China. They soon discover a real-life, benevolent dragon.
The first official Chinese-Australian co-production, the film was seen by more than half a million Chinese on its opening weekend, making it the country’s highest grossing film.
The dragon itself and all the visual effects were created in Adelaide, where the film co-premiered in Australia, at the Adelaide Film Festival.
According to CinéfestOZ vice-chairman and film programmer Helen Shervington, The Dragon Pearl is an important film in the history of Chinese-Australian filmmaking.
“The Dragon Pearl is Australia’s first foray into official film co-production with China and I think the Chinese sensibilities associated with making the film have been handled superbly,” said Shervington.
“This can be seen in the presentation of the dragon where Western stereotypes had to be tempered with the significance and positivity surrounding dragons in Chinese culture.
“This film will have broad family appeal, in many parts due to the magnificent dragon, which came to life in the studios of two South Australian visual effects companies.
“We are most fortunate to have director Mario Andreacchio attending the premiere, as well as the pre-screening event and post-screening question and answer session. I imagine this will be fascinating, in terms of the cross-cultural learnings,” she said.
The Dragon Pearl will screen on Saturday 27 August (11.30am) and Sunday 28 August (11am) at Orana Cinemas in Busselton.
Book online at www.cinefestoz.com.au www.cinefestoz.com.auor consider purchasing a Festival Gold pass to ensure you don’t miss any of the action.
Cast and/or crew have also been confirmed to attend the respective red-carpet premieres of Face to Face, Swerve, Birthday and Toomelah.