Tencent Pictures Annual Conference announcing a series of new projects including Zhang Yimou's Shadow

HONG KONG, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Pictures held its annual conference at the National Aquatics Center - Water Cube in Beijing, with over 800 guests attending the event. Tencent Pictures announced the latest progress of various film and television projects including Joy of Life, The Tibet Code, The Whistleblower, and The Prince of Tennis.

Since its establishment in 2015, Tencent Pictures has been contributing to the industry, and is consistently proactive in producing high quality films and nurturing young talents. Tencent Pictures participated in the production of internationally renowned projects including Warcraft, Wonder Woman, and Animal World. Over the past three years, Tencent Pictures has built the capability to create, promote, manage IP, and become a comprehensive entertainment company.

"The film and television industry has always been an industry of dreams, with practitioners dedicating their hearts and souls in every production," said Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent Group and CEO of Tencent Pictures. "Tencent Pictures are proud to be part of the industry, enabling filmmakers around the world to tell their stories."

"Here at Tencent, we understand the importance of creativity and originality to the growth and development of the industry, and we respect the talents of its practitioners," he added.

Together with Sanford Panitch, President of Columbia Pictures, Cheng announced that Tencent Pictures will join hands with Sony Pictures in Marvel Studio's latest production Venom, a spin-off of Spiderman, directed by Ruben Fleischer and starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams. Tencent Pictures expects to have stronger cooperation with Sony Pictures in different areas including film and television, gaming and music etc.

One of the this year's highlights is Zhang Yimou's Shadow. At the annual conference, Zhang is joined on stage by Hu Jun, the leading actor of Shadow; Zhang Zhao, President and CEO of Le Chuang Entertainment; Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent Group and CEO of Tencent Pictures; and Ellen Eliasoph, President and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, to announce the launch of the new film.

Shadow premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in September earlier this year. Zhang also received the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award in Venice, making him the first Chinese director to receive the honour.

"We are honoured to work with Zhang Yimou, and many other talented filmmakers around the world, especially those from the China market. With the dedication and commitment of Chinese filmmakers, we are convinced that the Chinese film market will be unstoppable. Tencent Pictures will continue the journey of Neo-Culture Creativity and enable the promotion of Chinese culture," said Cheng.

Other international projects include:

• A new Terminator film, directed by Tim Miller and starring the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger;
• Project X - Traction, starring Jackie Chan and John Cena, currently filming in Ningxia in China and expected to be released in 2020.

About Tencent

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Our social products Weixin and QQ link our users to a rich digital content catalogue including games, video, music and books. Our proprietary targeting technology helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our infrastructure services including payment, security, cloud and artificial intelligence create differentiated offerings and support our partners' business growth. Tencent invests heavily in people and innovation, enabling us to evolve with the Internet. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of Tencent (00700.HK) are traded on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

SOURCE Tencent