Cinematic encounters. Perspectives on Sino-Italian film co-productions

This chapter investigates Sino-Italian film co-productions from a diachronic perspective, addressing a central empirical puzzle: despite the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1970 and the signing of the 2004 bilateral Agreement on Film Co-production (ratified 2012–2013), only two projects - namely, Coffee (2016) and The Italian Recipe (2022) - have been officially recognized under the framework. Why has a solid diplomatic and regulatory architecture produced such limited results? Drawing on a bilingual analysis of policy documents and interpretative instruments, and aligning the research with the Biographical Database of Italians in China (DBIC), the chapter reconstructs the evolution of Sino-Italian cinematic relations, from early encounters to landmark collaborations such as Marco Polo (1982) and The Last Emperor (1987) towards the latest co-production projects.