Hong Kong-based Sil-MetropoleOrganization has teamed up with Emperor Motion Pictures and Beijing-basedZhenhua Investment Co to co-finance Ma Liwen's Tao Hua Yun (lit trans: TheLuck Of Romance) which started shooting yesterday in Beijing.

Vivian Wu (The Last Emperor), Ge You (The Banquet) and Fan Bingbing (Battle Of Wits) star in the $2.5m filmabout a poet romancing five different women. Sil-Metropole is investing three-fifthsof the film's $2.5m budget with EMP and Zhenhua supplying the rest.

The film marks the firstcommercial project from arthouse writer-director Ma Liwen. Her first film, Gone Is The One Who Held Me Dearest In TheWorld, won a special mention at the Tokyo International Film Festival in2003. But she attracted more notice with her second film, You And Me, which was awarded best actress at Tokyo and best director and actress at China's top film honours, the Golden Rooster Awards.

Although Hong Kong-based, Sil-Metropolehas mainland Chinese holdings and has been accorded the same status as amainland Chinese state-owned studio. In addition to Ma's film, the companyplans to produce three titles set in mainland China in the later half of the year.

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