Barbara Robinson
Managing Director,
Columbia Film Production Asia

In April of 1998 Barbara Robinson joined the Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group (a Sony Pictures Entertainment company) to establish their local-language film production division, Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, based in Hong Kong.

Her record over the past seven years is notable for its success stories. The division launched Zhang Yimou’s (張藝謀) “Not One Less” (一個都不能少) and “The Road Home” (我的父親母親), and produced Tsui Hark’s (徐克) “Time and Tide,” (順流逆流) all three of which enjoyed critical acclaim and strong revenues in the international marketplace. The company also co-produced Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” (臥虎藏龍) which went on to win four OscarsO and to set box office records in the United States and around the world.

CPFPA’s most recent films include “20:30:40”, directed by and starring Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉); “Kekexili” (可可西里) , by mainland director Lu Chuan (陸川), which was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 2004 Tokyo Film Festival, the Best Picture at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and will have its U.S. premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. And the largest-scale film of CPFPA’s history, the action comedy “Kung Fu Hustle” (功夫) directed by and starring Stephen Chow (周星馳). “Kung Fu Hustle” will begin its Asia-wide release on December 23, 2004 and is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in March 2005.

Ms. Robinson began her career in Asia in 1984 teaching at Qinghua University in Beijing, China. In 1986 she moved to Taiwan, where she studied Mandarin Chinese before joining Era International Ltd. in 1989. For the next seven years, as Vice President of Production & Licensing, she worked on several award-winning films including: Hou Hsiao Hsien’s (侯孝賢) “A City of Sadness” (悲情城市), Zhang Yimou’s (張藝謀) “Raise the Red Lantern” (大紅燈籠高高掛) and “To Live” (活著). In all, the nine films she worked on prior to joining Columbia have garnered more than a dozen major awards from international film festivals, including two British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) for Best Foreign Film.

In the documentary field, Ms. Robinson co-produced a film on the work of renowned Chinese film composer Zhao Jiping (趙季平). She co-produced a second documentary, on the making of the opera “Turandot,” (圖蘭多) directed by Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and staged in the Forbidden City in September, 1998.