Dalian Wanda Group, the world's biggest owner of movie theatres, is in talks with leading Hollywood studios to co-produce films and is looking to buy and build hotels in major U.S. cities as the Chinese firm eyes a $10 billion (6 billion pounds) 'soft power' spending spree.

To give a fillip to the cultural ties between India and Pakistan, the first edition of “Delhi International Film Festival”, to be held in the Capital from December 21 to 27, will see the participation of 12 film-makers from the neighbouring country.

It makes sense that the film Hyde Park On Hudson was directed and produced by Brits, despite the fact that it's about one of America's most celebrated presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his intimate relationship with his 5th cousin Daisy and the King and Queen of England's historic visit to FDR's mother's house in upstate New York in 1939, a visit that forged the "special relationship" between America and Britain and marked America's entrance into World War II.

When Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema opens this Thursday at Lincoln Center, its organizers will be peering over the balustrade, more anxious than ever before to see a full house.

Sakchai Deenan is Thai, but he's pretty big in Laos. Talk about filmmaking and cultural exchange among the nations of Southeast Asia and the man with limited means and image of a constantly struggling director has carved out a unique new segment, feeding off the interconnectedness between the peoples of Thailand and Laos, and managed to reap fair success these past four years.

Two state-owned Chinese film companies are aiming to list shares on Shanghai's stock exchange, as Beijing champions the growth of a homegrown film industry to rival Hollywood... Chinese policy makers see a vibrant film industry as an extension of what is called soft power, giving the nation cultural sway on par with its status as the world's No. 2 economy.

Taking advantage of activity surrounding the Chinese American Film Festival (Oct. 25-Nov. 30) and American Film Market (Oct. 31-Nov. 7), Asia Society Southern California staged its third U.S.-China Film Summit at UCLA Covel Commons, with three panels of U.S. and Chinese film entrepreneurs in co-production, globalization of talent and investments.

The European Film Festival activities were launched yesterday at a press conference hosted at the European Union Delegation. The festival brings together more than 14 countries with 20 films from England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Holland, Italy, Poland, Austria and Sudan.