French producer zooms in on cultural heritage

"Culture is something that everyone can connect with and talk about easily," Chiabodo says. "We use high-tech tools to share and preserve different cultures, helping people around the globe to communicate and understand each other better."

For years, the producer has devoted himself to recording the world's natural and cultural beauties. However, he started his career as a medical doctor, busy exploring the intricate workings of the human body.

One day, he decided to conduct a checkup on our planet, documenting its health and vitality through the lens of a camera. The Earth, in his eye, mirrors the human body. Just as human bodies are composed of 70 percent water and 30 percent solid matter, so is our planet.

"I decided to do a checkup on our planet through a documentary film to know more about the planet, culture and nature. The more we know it, the better we can protect it," says Chiabodo.

His connection with China began in 1985, inspired by French politician and writer Alain Peyrefitte, who encouraged him to visit and learn more about the country. He recalls his visit to Beijing and how impressed he was with the wide streets full of bicycles.

"Miraculously, great changes have happened in China," he says.

In Amazing China, Chiabodo visited the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors to show how people protect their culture in modern times. He also unveils the latest technology China boasts, such as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope to explore the universe, the C919 plane made by China and the high-speed railway system.

He says although China has made great technological achievements and developed fast, it preserves its historical sites and culture well, which is important for the younger generations.

Amazing China debuted last October on China Central Television and won praise from the audience. It is available to international audiences for viewing via French TV stations during China's Spring Festival.

Using technology as a medium, the high-definition documentaries Chiabodo promotes not only introduce a more authentic and rich China to the world but also enable more people to gain a deeper understanding of France.

In April 2023, as a member of a business delegation, Chiabodo accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron on a visit to China. President Macron presented 16 documentaries about France, produced by Chiabodo, as national gifts to China. These documentaries recording France's natural and cultural riches via 8K technology were presented on Tencent Video to Chinese audiences at the end of last November.

"I believe that culture is the best means of dialogue not only between China and France but people around the world to engage in dialogue and listen to one another," he says.

The producer says he has an ambitious plan to film all the 59 UNESCO world heritage sites in China and showcase them to the world.