Director Peter Chan speaks at the launch ceremony of "Cinema Popular" on February 15, 2008. [sina.com]

Acclaimed Hong Kong director Peter Chan and Huang Jianxin from the Chinese mainland set up a film company Sunday with investment from PolyBona in an attempt to promote the Chinese cinema.

The company, titled "Cinema Popular", planned to make 15 films in three years, said Peter Chan Sunday at the opening ceremony. "I hope that more elites will be cultivated for the Chinese cinema in the future through our cooperation with young directors."

The company's first film will be "Dark October" directed by Hong Kong actor-director Teddy Chen. The film, supported jointly by Cinema Popular, China Film Group and Shanghai Media Group, is scheduled to start shooting in Shanghai in mid-March.

Director Huang Jianxin speaks at the launch ceremony of "Cinema Popular" on February 15, 2008. [sina.com]

PolyBona Film Distribution Co.,Ltd. has invested some 500 million yuan (about 73 million U.S. dollars) on the new film company. PolyBona president Yu Dong said he expected "Cinema Popular" to achieve a domestic box office of 2 billion yuan in three years.

PolyBona has distributed more than 150 Chinese and foreign films in the domestic film market since its foundation in 1999. Its overall box office totals some 1.5 billion yuan.

Zhang Hongsen, an official with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said, "the founding of 'Cinema Popular' shows the country's deepened efforts in the industrialization of the Chinese cinema, and it also indicates a way out for the country to optimize filming resources."

Hong Kong director Peter Chan wins international acclaims for his war epic "Warloads" (2007) and musical romance "Perhaps Love" (2005) starring mainland-born actress Zhou Xun and heart-throb actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)