This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
Australian cinema has never been the most outward-looking. Its greatest films tend to lean into national stereotypes, and its greatest stars tend to leave for Hollywood.
In 2008, however, the government signed a co-production treaty with China, which was fast becoming one of the biggest film markets in the world. This resulted in underperforming efforts such as the 2008 drama The Children of Huang Shi and the 2011 family film The Dragon Pearl, both of which were set in China.
Having found a lucrative niche, director Kimble Rendall attempted to repeat the trick with 2018’s Guardians of the Tomb, also known as Nest and 7 Guardians of the Tomb.