Director Andrej Koncalovskij poses during the photo call for the movie "Belye nochi pochtalona alekseya tryapitsyna" (The Postman's White Nights) at the 71st Venice Film Festival September 5, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

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VENICE -- China and other countries should grasp opportunities and work out strategies to strengthen cooperation in the motion picture industry, film professionals and experts say.

At a forum held on the sidelines of the 71th Venice International Film Festival, which opened Wednesday, participants discussed challenges and strategies for the Chinese film industry.

The China Film Forum, the first of its kind entirely dedicated to the Asian country's film market during the film festival, would serve as a bridge for the global development of Chinese cinema, experts said.

"A few months ago a co-production agreement between Italy and China entered into force. Now we have to make movies together. Movies are done when you have the capacity of gathering professionals; that's why I would like to focus this conference on the stories and on the 'meeting' of stories," Maurizio Sciarra, a member of the Directors and Screenwriters Association of Italy, told the forum.

According to Roberto Barzanti, president of the Venice Days, an event at the film festival aimed at drawing attention to high-quality cinema, this kind of meeting is established in a balanced spirit of cultural exchanges.

"We don't want any fusion or chaotic cooperation, but we want to establish a concrete dialogue," he said. "Now we are here to discuss about commercial and rights protection aspects."