Tag Archives: China

Fremantle boards climate doc Day Zero

October 21, 2020NewsChina, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Day Zero, Fremantle, Keo Films, Kevin Sim, OoS Pictures, TencentGary

Global producer and distributor Fremantle has picked up the international sales rights to a climate documentary narrated by British-Nigerian actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave).

Day Zero, which comes from filmmaker Kevin Sim, explores some of the most shocking water shortage issues facing the planet and talks to the people fighting to protect the world’s most precious resource from running out.

Filmed over a three-year period, the doc is being produced by Tencent in China, UK-based Keo Films and Iceland’s OoS Pictures, and includes exclusive interviews with some of the world’s top scientists and experts.

Virginia Quinn co-directs the doc with Sim, while Tencent’s chief exploration officer David Wallerstein exec produces alongside Keo Films’ Kari Lia.

Fremantle unveiled the documentary to buyers at this month’s Mipcom Online+.

“Day Zero is a film about people who already don’t have the luxury of thinking that water scarcity is someone else’s business. In Africa, Kansas, California, Brazil – and even in space – we follow the stories of local heroes fighting back along the frontlines of a crisis that could engulf us all,” said Sim.

“Sometimes you have to start beating drums, and we hope we’ve made a powerful and moving film whose message will be heard – an unashamedly demotic, down-to-earth film about the future of the planet.

“Yes, it’s a film which carries a terrifying warning, but a film that also offers a way out – to urge human beings to explore solutions that could save our future.”

tagged in: China, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Day Zero, Fremantle, Keo Films, Kevin Sim, OoS Pictures, Tencent

StarTimes ‘fostering Africa-China relations’

July 6, 2018NewsAdeyeye Enitan, China, Guo Weimin, Justin Zhang, Ooni of Ife, Pang Xingxing, StarTimesGary

Leading African pay TV company StarTimes has revealed it aims to foster the relationship between the Chinese and African media businesses.

At the company’s eighth annual African Digital TV Development Seminar, it claimed it is doing all it can to improve China-Africa television cooperation

Speaking to over 400 participants from 48 African and Asian countries at the seminar, StarTimes Group president Pang Xingxing said: “We are very pleased to be at the forefront of helping Africa to gradually make a transition to a modern and intelligent society.”

The focus is on “reviewing trends, developments and cooperation towards digitalising broadcasting in Africa as well as the over-the-top industry, which is upgrading the African television landscape,” he said.

Guo Weimin, deputy director of the State Council Information Office of China, said the country is interested in helping to develop African media and ensuring a solid partnership between China and Africa.

In line with this vision, StarTimes Nigeria recently partnered with the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan, to empower the less privileged with the Hopes Alive Initiative (HAI), targeting young people.

Justin Zhang, MD of StarTimes Nigeria, said: “When we heard about this laudable initiative from the Ooni of Ife, we took an interest immediately because we are always optimistic about getting involved with youth projects. We have a project ongoing in Abuja and are working with Nigerians in conjunction with the Chinese government to support villages in Nigeria.”

In June, StarTimes also disclosed it was working with the Nigerian government to create mentorship and technical programmes to help empower Nigerian youth.

StarTimes recently acknowledged Nigeria as its largest market.

tagged in: Adeyeye Enitan, China, Guo Weimin, Justin Zhang, Ooni of Ife, Pang Xingxing, StarTimes

StarTimes brings satellite to rural Kenyans

January 3, 2020NewsChina, Hesbon Mwalei, Kenya, StarTimes, Wu PengGary

StarTimes’ Access to Satellite TV completion ceremony

Chinese pay TV firm StarTimes’ digital project Access to Satellite TV has benefitted more than 1,600 Kenyan households in 47 countries.

The initiative was aimed at helping rural African families access information about the world and improve agriculture and knowledge about science and sanitation, thereby reducing poverty.

During the official completion ceremony, Hesbon Mwalei, Kenya’s ICT director, said the Kenyan government was committed to fully exploiting opportunities offered by digital broadcasting to enable young people to unleash their talents through creative arts.

He said: “The noble initiative enabled households and institutions that had been left out without access to television after the digital migration process to now benefit from digital television.

“The availability of a balanced mix of local and international channels through this project will increase access to information, which will go a long way to bridge the urban/rural digital divide.”

China’s ambassador to Kenya, Wu Peng, added that the implementation of the project was an important part of the China-Africa Cultural Exchange Cooperation Program.

StarTimes Group, a multi-national media company and content provider working in the African broadcasting industry, was tasked with rolling out the programme.

tagged in: China, Hesbon Mwalei, Kenya, StarTimes, Wu Peng

StarTimes hosts China, Africa summit

September 18, 2018NewsChina, The Forum on China-Africa CooperationGary

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held a summit at the StarTimes headquarters in Beijing attended by the presidents of 18 African countries.

The event was attended by almost 3,200 delegates from Africa, China and international bodies and concluded that the long-standing relationship between China and Africa is intact and will continue.

The success of the Forum has led to an initiative to further strengthen the relationship between the continent and China, despite challenges.

StarTimes, a Chinese multinational media company as well as a major digital TV operator in Africa, has worked on projects that include helping about 10,000 African villages gain access to satellite TV and also the campaign to tackle HIV/AIDS.

President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera said 103 villages had been helped by the company in his country. “StarTimes can bring news and information to these 103 villages where it has established its information network, and allows these villagers access to the whole world. This is a remarkable thing for these inhabitants,” he said.

This project was a collaboration between China and Africa with the aim of making sure families had access to high-quality TV programmes and images.

The 18 African heads of state came to show support for StarTimes and its endeavours in Africa.

The visitors included Ghana’s First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo. To honour her visit, StarTimes donated 24 football kits to support her foundation.

Lesotho’s prime minister Thomas Thabane and the Chinese ambassador to Lesotho Sun Xianghua were also present.

Ten villages in Lesotho were offered projector TV sets and solar powered generation systems by StarTimes president Pang Xinxing.

Also at the summit were Sierra Leone’s president Julius Maada Bio and his wife, the First Lady Fatima Maada Bio, and the Chinese ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wu Peng.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the MD of StarTimes, Gu Xun, and Sierra Leone’s minister of information and communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, on cooperation.

StarTimes also donated TV sets to villages in Sierra Leone.

President Bio said: “I look forward to having StarTimes in Sierra Leone.”

A meeting was held in Beijing with the aim of creating awareness among young people about HIV/AIDS using online mobile platforms. It was attended by the First Lady of the Republic of Malawi Gertrude Mutharika, UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé and StarTimes Group vice president Guo Ziqi.

tagged in: China, The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation