The Nightingale -- Presenting Real China to the World

The Nightingale is considered a successful coproduction. “It is an achievement of the whole team.” The director mentioned that he was quite impressed with the flexibility and efficiency of Chinese filmmakers. “At one point, I had to change my shooting plan and move the filming site to the other side of a river. For a change like this in France, we have to wait at least two or three days for the producer’s response. But my Chinese peers managed to find a bamboo raft in just one hour to take me to the opposite riverbank.”

Filming for The Nightingale finished in 2013. In that year, China’s box office totaled nearly RMB 20 billion. While other sectors in China are growing at five to 10 percent annually, the film industry grew by over 30 percent, attracting global capital in all fields.

This is one of the reasons that Ning Ning invited Muyl to make a quality film that “conveys positive energy and is suitable for the entire family both in China and abroad.” It was not an impulse, but a decision based on a professional producer’s rational judgment and market research.

“The success of Muyl’s The Butterfly (Le Papillon) qualifies him to direct this Chinese movie,” Ning Ning explained. The Butterfly was not only well received in France, but also won the heart of Chinese audiences. “The Nightingale resembles The Butterfly in its theme of family love.” Ning Ning continued, “I am deeply moved by this theme and I believe it will break into a wider market both at home and abroad.”