Oz firm to coproduce Chinese doc

Australian production company Bearcage will coproduce a two-part documentary series with China’s Beijing Television.

The pair will co-create The Tale of Two Cities, in which photographers from Beijing and Canberra will travel to each others’ countries and create exhibitions around the people they meet.

“As the first formal coproduction between Beijing Television Channel and an Australian company, the project represents an initiative of great significance to both countries,” said Bearcage’s Michael Tear.

Bearcage, which is behind Australian doc series such as Foxtel’s Building Australia, previously coproduced Story of Australia with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV9.

Internationally coproduced documentaries with Chinese broadcasters are expected to increase following the introduction of new regulations severely limiting the number of overseas formats broadcasting in the territory.

Numerous foreign delegations are currently in the territory for the Sichuan TV Festival aiming to build close ties with commissioning channels.