STORY: 700 years on, Italian "Marcos" continue to draw inspiration from Marco Polo
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 14-March 26, 2024
DATELINE: March 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:06:33
LOCATION: Rome
CATEGORY: CULTURE/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARCO MULLER, MARCO BETTIN, MARCO RUSSO, MARCO PERUSI, MARCO OLIVA
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MARCO MULLER, Former chairman of the Venice International Film Festival
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MARCO BETTIN, Director general of Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF)
SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MARCO RUSSO, CEO of Italian jewelry brand Russo Cammei
SOUNDBITE 5 (English): MARCO PERUSI, Teacher of Institute Aleardo Aleardi International School of Verona
SOUNDBITE 6 (English): MARCO OLIVA, Student of Piero Della Francesca High School of Arezzo
SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): MARCO MULLER, Former chairman of the Venice International Film Festival
SOUNDBITE 8 (English): MARCO BETTIN, Director general of Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF)
SOUNDBITE 9 (English): MARCO RUSSO, CEO of Italian jewelry brand Russo Cammei
SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MARCO PERUSI, Teacher of Institute Aleardo Aleardi International School of Verona
SOUNDBITE 11 (English): MARCO OLIVA, Student of Piero Della Francesca High School of Arezzo
SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MARCO MULLER, MARCO BETTIN, MARCO RUSSO, MARCO PERUSI, MARCO OLIVA

STORYLINE:

Over 700 years ago, Italian traveler Marco Polo amazed Europe with his detailed chronicle of a 24-year journey across Asia. Today, his legacy remains an inspiration for those passionate about the cultures of China and Italy.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): MARCO MULLER, MARCO BETTIN, MARCO RUSSO, MARCO PERUSI, MARCO OLIVA
"I'm Marco."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MARCO MULLER, Former chairman of the Venice International Film Festival
"I'm Marco Muller, from Rome. In 1975, I went to China for further studies. During my time there, I discovered that people outside China knew almost nothing about Chinese films. That's when I decided to dedicate my time to studying Chinese films and promoting Chinese films.
I want Chinese films to be seen by more people in Europe, in the West. Chinese films have unique aesthetic perspectives, which I believe will benefit future cultural exchanges."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MARCO BETTIN, Director general of Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF)
"My name is Marco Bettin. I am Italian, and I'm Venetian. Although right now I live in Milan, I had been living and working in China for over 20 years.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): MARCO RUSSO, CEO of Italian jewelry brand Russo Cammei
"I am Marco Russo, CEO of Russo Cammei. Since 2018, we have been in China to try to develop our business in this country that we consider the most important market in the world. We were there to participate in the CIIE in Shanghai, but also in Hainan EXPO since the first edition in 2021."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): MARCO PERUSI, Teacher of Institute Aleardo Aleardi International School of Verona
"I am a teacher, responsible for this Confucius classroom since 2009. I mainly teach students (Chinese) culture, but sometimes I explain Chinese grammar to them."

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): MARCO OLIVA, Student of Piero Della Francesca High School of Arezzo
"My name is Marco, I'm 17 years old. I've been learning Chinese for three and a half years. The first time I came into contact with the Chinese was when I was in primary school. One day on the train I heard some Chinese kids talking, and I thought that language they were speaking was really beautiful."

SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): MARCO MULLER, Former chairman of the Venice International Film Festival
"Marco Polo gave a panoramic introduction to Western people about ancient China. For me, I always want to introduce the continuous development of Chinese society, Chinese culture and Chinese economy through films. That's for sure.
I have to learn from Marco Polo for keep moving on during his lifetime, and continue to explore some new trends of modern Chinese films, especially those made by young Chinese directors."

SOUNDBITE 8 (English): MARCO BETTIN, Director general of Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF)
"I was thinking I could follow a little bit what Marco Polo has done hundreds years ago and deepen (understanding) of the Chinese culture and the history. I had the chance to live and stay in China in a fantastic moment because it was beginning of 1991, 1992. And then I have the chance to see everything. I really, I witness a very, very big change.
Whenever I go back to China, there is always something that amazes me. It could be just a couple of old people walking and watching the moon. Or even when I stay in the fantastic hotel, the robot who bring me the stuff to my room. So I like this contrast between the old way of life and the development, the technology."

SOUNDBITE 9 (English): MARCO RUSSO, CEO of Italian jewelry brand Russo Cammei
"I think that in the world, there are not too many countries that have a great history, and Chinese and Italian people have this great history. Watching our history, we know what is the real meaning of art.
We are trying to organize a road show. So we would like to organize a great tour all around China just to show in many different Chinese cities, in many different Chinese places our typical art."

SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MARCO PERUSI, Teacher of Institute Aleardo Aleardi International School of Verona
"Marco Polo is a cultural hero for us because we live here close to Venice. So every child in this province knows about Marco Polo. And there were so many movies about Marco Polo, so many tunes about Marco Polo. So we have inherited the story and the legend of Marco Polo since we were very, very, very small, very young.
Marco Polo, in my opinion, built a bridge. And I'm trying to do the same brick by brick, step by step."

SOUNDBITE 11 (English): MARCO OLIVA, Student of Piero Della Francesca High School of Arezzo
"I'm really proud to have the same name as Marco Polo. In my opinion, learning the Chinese language and culture, making the greatness of China known to everyone, and promoting understanding between different civilizations. All represent the spirit of Marco Polo. I still haven't decided what I want to do when I grow up, but I know that I want to go to China."

SOUNDBITE 12 (English): MARCO MULLER, MARCO BETTIN, MARCO RUSSO, MARCO PERUSI, MARCO OLIVA
"We are Marco."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Rome.
(XHTV)