Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore and US writer-director David Twohy are developing projects with China, which were both announced on the first full day of the Beijing International Film Festival (April 16-23).

Tornatore has agreed to make a film for Alibaba Pictures, the filmmaking arm of ecommerce giant Alibaba, which he signed with Alibaba Pictures’ CEO Zhang Qiang at the end of the BJIFF’s Co-production Forum on Sunday.

However, the specific project has not yet been identified and it’s unclear whether it will be made as a co-production under the China-Italy treaty.

Separately, producers Steve Chicorel and Sriram Das announced US-China co-production Ice Moon Rising – a sci-fi project to be directed by David Twohy who wrote The Fugitive and directed The Chronicles of Riddick and its sequel. Chicorel and Das are in the process of locking down a Chinese co-producer and international sales agent for the film.

The producing partners are also working with director David Hackl (Saw V) on air heist drama Money Plane, to be co-produced with Beijing-based Wudi Pictures. Both Money Plane and Ice Moon Rising are expected to start shooting in the last quarter of 2016.

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