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U.S. filmmakers hope for Olympics replay at Shanghai Expo
2010. 9 April
by Xinhua
(english.sina.com)
Two U.S. filmmakers hope to see the spectacle of the Beijing Olympics repeated at the Shangai Expo, they told Xinhua recently.
Curtis Cates and Terri Marlowe , who produced a documentary on the New York 1964 World's Fair, said many Americans planned to visit Shanghai for the expo based on China's success in hosting the Olympics in 2008.
"People were blown away by the Beijing Olympics and people want to see that type of spectacle repeated at Shangai Expo," Cates said.
Cates and Marlowe spent 14 years producing a 90-minute documentary -- "Peace Through Understanding: The 1964-65 New York World's Fair." The film interweaves recollections of numerous participants with archival footage, photos and period music for a behind-the-scenes and historical account of the event and its turbulent backdrop.
Through interviews with people who were involved at many levels (pavilion owners, operators and employees; representatives of the 1964-65 World's Fair Corporation; fairgoers; historians; collectors and curators), the film goes beyond nostalgia to allow the viewer to share the world that was the fair with those who experienced it first-hand.
Cates said he believed the Shanghai Expo would become "the greatest fair" since the 1964 New York World's Fair in a country that attracted so much attention from the world.
"Your country really wants foreign interest. You need people to come and have a vacation there. I think this is an incredible opportunity for both Shanghai and China," he said.
"I just saw a documentary on Ieoh Ming Pei, and it showed his home city. I want to be there now. I want to be there because there is a world fair," he said.
Noting he wanted to see what Chinese culture was about, he said: "I only know what's fed to us from TV and newspapers is a lot of negative things. It's a real opportunity for us to look at present China with our own eyes."
Marlowe echoed Cates' views, saying: "It's a good opportunity for Shanghai to make its mark as an international presence. It's certainly a good opportunity for regional economic development."
"Some pavilions and structures have been built permanently, which should allow for future growth in the area and certainly will draw people to Shanghai."
"And it will bring the world to China," she said.
Malowe said the the 1964 World's Fair had brought rich different cultures to New York in addition to a huge physical change in the city.
"Neither the 1939 fair nor the 1964 fair made money for the city," said Marlowe, adding "if you just look at the fair in terms of finance, you are missing the point. The fair brought cultures to the city."
"It brought cultural elements, new awareness and new population," she said. "A lot of people came to New York and stayed in the city, a melting pot of multi-cultures that lasts to this day."
She also said the fair had changed the city in a broader way as it brought so many cuisines, new restaurants.
While talking about the necessity of holding such a event in a time of globalisation, Malowe said: "I don't think world fairs or world exhibitions are about need, it's about experience. People do need experience."
She hoped people would have an exciting experience at Shanghai Expo and she believed they would.
Source: english.sina.com