What are the Biggest Success Tips that Cuts Across Borders & Culture?

Guo Jing Yu  |  郭靖宇
Award winning Creative Director  |  获奖创意总监
Chairman  |  主席
G.H.Y Culture & Media (Singapore) Pte Ltd  |  建信文化传媒
 

For Guo Jing Yu from G.H.Y Culture & Media, this is tough question to answer – unable to pinpoint that secret sauce of guaranteed success of a product or film, where the right flavour can see a content cross borders and win the hearts of global audiences.

However, according to Guo, a product should not only aim to be successful, but in crossing borders, advocate cooperation that may see a blend of cultures.

For example, The Little Nyonya, the company’s first production that saw a collaboration with their team from Southeast Asia, expressed and displayed the unique Nanyang culture to China audiences.

“We mobilized our Singapore production team and carried out the filming in Malaysia – which thoroughly showcased the originality of the Nyonya and their past,” said Guo.

The Summer of 2020 saw the drama series run on CCTV7 and iQIYI platforms and achieved remarkable results and viewership. The click-through rates and ratings were significant, achieving high rankings on Weibo and Douyin, which in turn, attracted a large fan base in China, and across the region.

This included recognition from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia, for developing China-Malaysia ties.

What Guo can say about working towards success, is to research the materials thoroughly, pay great attention to the details, have great believe in your production’s market value, and give it your best shot.

“I’m sharing all these based on my past experiences; there’s no shortcut in this process,” Guo highlighted. “There are many underlying factors and hard work behind the success of a film.”


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Specimens of Success

According to Guo, it has been over a decade since China witnessed remarkable films in the market that have successfully cooperated and exchanged culture within the content itself – sharing creativity and culture in production is vital in successfully crossing borders, which is valuable for the future. This was especially pertinent with The Little Nyonya.

“For overseas distribution, the Southeast Asian market, or countries with a larger Chinese population, enjoy watching historical films, such as Wuxia, and the genre of historical romance, such as Yanxi Palace and The Untamed, both of which achieved noteworthy results.

“Our team has also produced with great success, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Handsome Siblings, and Dance of the Sky Empire,” concluded Guo.