Chinese admiral movie brings Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and China together

China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have teamed up to co-produce a movie, giving Asian heritage-themed storytelling and diplomacy a boost through the daring voyages of the widely admired Chinese admiral Zheng He.

A signing ceremony was held at the sidelines of the 29th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market Festival to launch the "Zheng He's Voyages to the West" project.

Representatives Fred Wang, chairman of Salon Films; Dato Kamil Othman, chairman of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia; Ashraf bin Ali, managing director and CEO of Saudi fintech Smart Savings, and Sun Zhiguo, president at Zheng He International Cooperation Organization and the China Zheng He Research Association, were present for the signing.

Zheng He is a 15th-century Chinese explorer and diplomat whose legacy is celebrated around the world for trade and cultural exchanges.

From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He embarked – nearly a century before Christopher Columbus set foot in America – on seven epic voyages and commanded a fleet with about 30,000 sailors, reaching Southeast Asia, the Middle East and even as far as Africa.

Wang revealed he was surprised when Ali from Smart Savings told him his bloodline was connected with Zheng He and because of many "young projects coming out" with AI, technology, and the internet "making the world more closer", they were decided on having the collaboration now.

Ali, the Jeddah-based finance facilitator of the film, said he was invited to join the collaboration during the last Red Sea Film Festival.

"We have a financial fintech application that distributes financing for different industries and this is one of the projects we'd like to contribute and be part of. However, I found out by coincidence there is some, I would say, bloodline between the admiral and my family…which is a bit surprising," claimed Ali.

"I found out it's not only a business opportunity, it's a family thing. So I wish this movie gets to see the theaters very soon," he added.

Kamil from Malaysia said the importance of Zheng He was his history connected with the Sultanate of Malacca.

"And the other attraction is that Zheng He is now positioned as what we all want today, which is a cultural ambassador for peace because when Zheng He was traveling, it wasn't about warfare, it wasn't about annexation. It's about being peaceful and being diplomatic. So basically, we are very fascinated by this story, presenting what are the sentiments of this world today also," said Kamil.

He said there "should be more cultural ambassadors like Zheng He" and that on this basis alone, they already had an interest.

"We thought if ever we want to leave something behind, this would be one such project. When we say 'we', we mean we as a collective group of people who'd just like to spread the word of peace and happiness to everybody in the world," Kamil told the audience.

Meanwhile, a separate ceremony was also held between Salon Films and pioneering Saudi Arabian director and filmmaker Abdullah Al Muheisen, who is also president at World Of Sounds And Visions Company.

Al Muheisen said there had been discussions on making a hub in Saudi Arabia where facilities could be utilized to get talent from Asia "to work with us and transfer information and knowledge" and produce production programs "that suit the new generation".

He also said it could be an exchange link "between the old and the young because there is a gap".

"And normally, this gap getting wider. So as young people want the older generation to link with them, we find their language so that we can produce a production that communicates to the young generation and exchange the talent and the know-how. That's how the whole idea started," he added.

Wang told China Daily in an email that Salon Films will work closely with Al Muheisen's company to develop several film projects involving co-productions between Saudi Arabia, China, and some other countries and Zheng He is one of them.

Source from China Daily