A fantasy adventure drawing on ancient Chinese folklore and highlighting modern environmental urgency, Dance With The Finless Porpoise is an upcoming feature that mixes Tang Dynasty painting styles with contemporary 3D animation.
For thousands of years, the finless porpoises have been guardians of the Yangtze River, the third-longest in the world, but are endangered and threatened by human activity.
In the film, Jiang Ling, a fairy finless porpoise who can turn into a princess, tries to save her clan from extinction by leading them to the legendary Cloud Dream Lake. Over the course of her adventure, she meets a human boy and they make a pact to complete a Dance of the Wind — a folk legend dance that tells the story of people and the Yangtze finless porpoises.
“Dance With The Finless Porpoise showcases the beauty and culture of Jiangxi Province, China, through the legend of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake,” says producer Xiao Yong, head of Shenzhen Global Digital Creations (GDC), the company that created the film. “It spans 600 years of history and highlights changes in the endangered finless porpoises’ living environment, emphasising the importance of protecting its habitat.”
Pioneer in animation
Debut feature directors Chen Xi and Chen Weijian both took part in the production of animations such as Lego The Lord Of The Rings and Lego Ninjago, and served as art directors on Chinese animation Toy Guardians.
They are reteaming with GDC, whose credits include Toy Guardians and the popular, ecologically conscious children’s animation Happy Little Submarines film series. GDC is a leading digital animation company in China, which has been involved in CG animation production for 22 years and is a pioneer in 3D animation production in China.
“We used a mixture of different artistic visual styles such as Chinese classical colour painting from the Tang Dynasty mixed with contemporary 3D animation. Our lead character is dressed in classical ancient Chinese robes, but she has a romantic encounter with a modern-day boy in current times,” Xiao says. “The traditional Chinese folk legend about the finless porpoise is presented to the audience, elaborating on the grand theme that humans and nature are one community with a shared future.”
Co-produced by the Jiangxi Cultural Performance Group, GDC and the Hukou Culture and Tourism board, the film took five years to create with the aim of raising awareness of the necessity to protect the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise. The producers also aim to raise awareness and appreciation for the exotic locales seen in the film.
“We chose to set the movie on the Yangtze, the longest river in China, and Lake Poyang, the largest lake in China, in the hopes our new young generation and the audience outside of China can get to know our landscapes and with renewed appreciation, or become a little curious about it,” he explains. “Throughout the movie, the audience can pick up the change of environment and culture through different time periods.”
The team will use Dance Of The Finless Porpoise as a starting point to plan a series of other films themed around the Yangtze River. They will showcase historical and legendary stories as well as regional cultures with different animation styles in order to promote more cultural interest and tourism while developing the local digital economy.
The film also uses traditional Chinese motifs to highlight its themes, including that of the love story. For example, “we highlighted the Chinese ceramic wind chime in the movie which is a symbol of a lover’s promise,” the producer says.
“Our lead is the finless porpoise. They are our smiling angels of the Yangtze,” he adds.
Co-presented by Poly Pictures, JXRTV and Jiangxi Film Group, Dance With The Finless Porpoise is aiming for a summer or early autumn release in China. Beijing-based sales and distribution company HY Media is selling the film in the Cannes market, and Hong Kong-based company Autumn Sun is co-selling and handling promotion.
Contact Claudia Chen, Autumn Sun claudia@autumnsunco.com
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