Many Chinese people can still clearly remember the plots of movies made in the former Yugoslavia, such as Walter Defends Sarajevo and The Bridge.

When he met Tomislav Nikolic and his delegation in Beijing recently, President Xi Jinping told the Serbian president that he can still whistle the theme from The Bridge.

In June, before he arrived in Serbia on a visit, an article Xi wrote for a local newspaper said that the movies had kindled patriotic passion among the people of the two countries for many years.

"Both the Chinese president and premier know those movies well," says Vladan Vukosavljevic, Serbia's culture minister. The two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation on films and will produce a commercial movie soon.

"We have the idea of refreshing people's memories. Basically, it will be a commercial movie that will attract moviegoers worldwide," he says, adding that China has already offered to provide TV and film studios in Beijing.

He says the movie should be shot in both Serbia and in China to help the Serbian people learn more about Serbia's Asian partner:

"I was impressed by the huge economic development I saw last year during my first visit, and this year," he says. "People in Serbia should see this."

He suggests those developments should be wrapped in a modern story about young people, depicting their lives, thoughts, loves and how they view the world.

"But inside that story, we should also show the deep roots of our cultural cooperation and connections. Some music from those old films could be used in the new movie," he says. "The story should be contemporary, and I would like the movie to be seen by audiences in China and across the world."

He says it will be an excellent opportunity to make a movie that will not just show culture, traditions and tourist spots.

"We will try to make a really good movie that will be shown at international film festivals."

He believes Chinese directors and actors have great potential, saying many are now gaining global recognition in the fields of movies, visual arts and contemporary art.

"The country's excellent film directors have won many prizes worldwide. So China is not only jumping into the future economically, it is also taking big steps in the world of contemporary culture. It has a lot of things to show the world."

Timeline

1955

China establishes diplomatic relations with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

2006

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the name of China's embassy is changed to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Serbia.

2013

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic pays a state visit to China.

2015

Nikolic attends a ceremony in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

2016

President Xi Jinping pays a state visit to the Republic of Serbia at the invitation of President Nikolic. During the visit, the two leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia.

Source: ministry of foreign affairs

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/28/2017 page13)