MEDIA RELEASE
AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY, BEIJING
30 August 2013
The Story of Australia
First Australia-China documentary co-production launched in Beijing
Screening on CCTV-9 from 30 August to 1 September 2013
Tonight, CCTV-9 will start screening the first Australia-China co-produced documentary television series, The Story of Australia. The series was launched by CCTV Editor-in-Chief and Vice-President, Luo Ming, and Australian Ambassador to China, HE Ms Frances Adamson, in Beijing on Thursday 29 August.
The Story of Australia will screen on CCTV-9 from 8:00-9:00pm on Friday 30 August, Saturday 31 August, and Sunday 1 September.
In launching the series, Ambassador Adamson said, “In a year when Australia-China relations have been lifted to a new level, it is fitting that Chinese viewers will see a high-quality documentary like this, that shows the beauty of Australia’s natural landscapes and the diversity and openness of our people and society.”
“The launch of this documentary series is a historic occasion. With several other film and television co-productions now in the pipeline, I am confident that The Story of Australia represents a further important step in the ongoing collaboration between the Australian and Chinese film and television industries.”
Developed throughout 2012 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Australia, The Story of Australia travels around Australia focusing on varied aspects of “a land like no other” - including Australia’s flora and fauna, arts and culture, industry and innovation, Indigenous culture and heritage, education, agriculture and geographic diversity.
The series also covers the role Australians of Chinese descent have had in the development of Australian society, culture, economy and politics.
The Australian Embassy in Beijing continues to support the rapid growth in Australia-China cooperation in the screen sector, including through the Embassy’s annual Australia-China Film Industry Forum (ACFIF), last held in Shanghai in June 2013. A large delegation of Australia documentary producers will visit China later in 2013 to further boost these links.