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Documents and changes

Filings that were previously made for production approval have been re-submitted with changes, which have been approved. Several features of the production details have changed:

Film Category

Previous filing - Feature film.

New filing - Co-production feature film (this would mean a film produced in partnership with another company).

Title

Mermaid (both filings)

Registering company

Previous filing - Hainan Xiyue Film Co., Ltd.

New filing - Hainan Xiyue Film Co. Ltd., Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media Co. Ltd., Huanhuan Xixi (Tianjin) Cultural Investment Co. Ltd. (wholly foreign-owned enterprise)

Screenwriter

Cheng Er (both filings)

Registration result

Approved for filming (both filings)

Registration location

Previous filing - Hainan Province

New filing - Directly registered

Synopsis

Previous filing - In the hinterland of the Dayao Mountains, a young man living in near-total isolation from the outside world encounters, for the first time, the alluring yet turbulent South from afar. Along the distant banks of the Red River in Vietnam, there is the bittersweet life of a middle-aged man and his heartfelt performance as a merman, as well as a female university student studying art in Aomori, Japan. Different worlds, intertwined lives.

New filing - During the long winter days in Northeast China, a young man is confronted with an accident and the layers of bewilderment that follow. Along the banks of Vietnam's Red River, a middle-aged man leads a secret life beneath a comical exterior. In Hong Kong, a family struggles through hardship and loneliness. Their lives seem entirely unrelated, yet are intimately connected. Different worlds, intertwined lives.

What does it mean?

The primary changes:

The production team has expanded - Most notably to include Maoyan, which is a very large film company that handles online ticketing, marketing, financing and film production. This means the film has strong financial and logistical backing, and Maoyan will likely be involved with marketing and distribution.

The synopsis has changed - The Japanese storyline about a young woman was replaced with a storyline about a family in Hong Kong.

The location filing likely related to which entity the documents were filed through - previously filed with a local provincial entity, now directly with the national film authority.

The project wrapped a couple of years ago, and people have been eagerly awaiting any news of its release. There have been plenty of rumors, and it has appeared among 'upcoming releases' in film/investor confrences, but nothing concrete has materialized yet.

This new filing represents some fairly significant progress. The project now has major financial backing from a company that is connected to marketing and distribution, the story has been honed and it's been filed directly with the national authority.

Of course this is not evidence of any imminent release, but it definitely shows the project is very much alive and in progress, and I think we can feel more confident than ever that it will see the light of day.