Toronto-based Stratagem Entertainment and China’s Chengdu Tianyin Culture Communication Company (CTCC) have inked a deal to create a $200 million production fund, with the goal of building connections between the Canadian and Chinese entertainment industries.

“It puts our talent to work on a global scale, and it also creates more…relationships with the Chinese with our community as well,” said Michael Cerenzie, founder, chairman and CEO of Stratagem Entertainment.

Most of the films included in the slate will be coproductions between Canada and China, although some would be solely Canadian, and vice-versa, Cerenzie said. Each party has invested $100 million into the fund. Budgets for the films would likely fall within the range of $20 to $30 million.

The first two films to be produced through this partnership will be Mandarin- and English-language versions of Princess Turandot, with both to be structured as coproductions between Canada and China. The features will be based on the legend of Turan-Dokht from the book Haft-Peykar, which was later adopted by Giacomo Puccini as an opera.

The Mandarin-language version of Turandot will be the first one produced, and it is set to go to camera in fall 2015 in Chengdu, Sichuan. In addition to support from the CTCC and Stratagem, the Mandarin-language film will also receive support from The Old Silk Road Investment Fund.

The English-language version of the film will be shot after the Mandarin-language project is completed. It will feature Canadian directors and other talent, with the majority of the work being done in Canada. Cerenzie said he would like to see if the film could be shot in Winnipeg, as it is the sister city to Chengdu.

For the Mandarin-language version of the film, CTCC chairman Chen Yong Ning is currently in talks with Wanda Cinema, Alibaba and Bona Film Group regarding distribution deals for the Chinese domestic market. Stratagem holds the international sales rights for all films coming out of the production agreement.

A director attached to the Mandarin-language film will be unveiled in the coming weeks, along with casting details.