Just as the American culture industries, especially Hollywood, were instrumental in constructing and disseminating the narrative about the attraction of the United States that helped make it the most influential player on the world stage in the 20th century, the rise in the popularity of Bollywood films could help to do the same for India in the 21st.

A Hollywood drama about the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008 has premiered in the Georgian capital. Cuban-American actor Andy Garcia, who stars as President Mikheil Saakashvili, spoke alongside director Renny Harlin at the premier screening in Tbilisi. The film dramatizes Saakashvili's role in the events.

The Kung Fu Panda series does not boast remarkable plot lines. In fact, to many critics, it is a plain story coming straight out of the US film assembly line. Its success sheds a light on how to commercialize cultural elements and increase so-called soft power.

The Little Red Dot will become the focus of the film world when movie icons such as Tom Hanks, Oliver Stone and Zhang Ziyi descend on the city-state for the first-ever ScreenSingapore. The cinema event hopes to establish the city-state as a regional hub of the global film industry.

While the story of the goofy panda who sets out to be a kung fu master enthralled audiences three years ago, the second edition of this animated feature has run into controversy with the Chinese public. Many feel that the film twists the premise and base of Chinese culture to its convenience.

We are thrilled to bring some of Hollywood's master storytellers to India to learn from India's long, rich history of storytelling," said Sandra de Castro Buffington, Director of Hollywood, Health & Society. "We know that they will be creatively and personally inspired by what they see and learn while in this extraordinary country.

Producers and movie industry advocates visiting the Beijing International Film Festival’s first full day on Sunday from around the world joined their Chinese counterparts in a summit to slice and dice the potential perks and pitfalls of making movies together.

Italian Consul-General Simone Petroni said that the festival reflected the passion for art and cinema alive in Europe. It remained, he believed, a powerful medium in which to express ideas as well as help cultural exchange.