A new film company was founded Wednesday during the Eighth Beijing International Film Festival and will spend 200 million yuan (US$31.86 million) on a film about Princess Wencheng from the Tang Dynasty.

Usunhome Pictures, a subsidiary of Usunhome Group, was officially launched at a press conference in Beijing that was a sideline event of the ongoing film festival. The new company released its production plan for two independently developed film projects and one television project. The most important project announcement was for a major historical period epic named "Mission Unpredictable," which will be based on the story of Princess Wencheng from the Tang Dynasty.

Six years ago, Usunhome Group produced a popular stage drama about Princess Wencheng in Lhasa. The newly founded film subsidiary will now bring the story to the big screen as a joint production with the Beijing Film Academy and Youth Film Studio. The film will be directed by Jin Tiemu, who directed critically acclaimed documentary films "The Old Summer Palace" and "Legend of The Tang Emipire."

Princess Wencheng, a member of the royal clan, was allowed to marry King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet by Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) of Tang Dynasty in 641. She is believed by scholars to have introduced Chinese culture and Buddhism to Tibet.

Executives from Usunhome Pictures, collaborators and guests pose for a group photo at a press conference held during the Eighth Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing on April 18, 2018. [Photo courtesy of Usunhome Pictures]

Qiu Wei, chairman of Usunhome Group, said the film company will promote Chinese culture through film and television projects. "Through making the best film and television projects, we will tell good Chinese stories, demonstrate ethnic aesthetics, express cultural confidence and touch the world with motion pictures."

Hou Guangming, secretary of the CPC party committee of Beijing Film Academy, also stated that "movies, as an important vehicle of national cultural soft power, are an important indication of the prosperity and development of China's cultural industries." He hopes the Princess Wencheng film will bring together the strengths of all parties involved and create a good movie with academic value for the Chinese film industry.

"Mission Unpredictable" will begin filming in October, director Jin Tiemu said, adding that he wants to make a heroic adventure film told from the perspective of commoners of the Tang Dynasty that also recreates the era's visual aesthetics. 

Besides the Princess Wencheng project, Usunhome Pictures will also produce an adventure documentary film called the "The Realm," which will explore the secrets of the uninhabited areas of Qiangtang and feature a search for the legendary animal graveyard Bamao Qiongzong, while also incorporating elements from the best-selling novel "The Tibet Code."

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