Our Independent Production House

We founded Hutong Productions in 2018 with the ambition of producing unexplored narratives, driven by bold artistic visions, each engaging uniquely with contemporary social and political issues.

Our Productions

Committed to giving visibility to a diversity of cinematic genres and filmmakers from around the globe, we tailor our production approach to meet each film's unique needs. We produce short films, feature films, fiction and documentaries, including many first-time films and with a particular appreciation for documentaries and their creative freedom. We provide long-term artistic support to our filmmakers within a structured, open, and equitable framework for bringing their vision to life. The company is based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and now has two offices, one in Paris and the other in Dordogne, where we can host filmmakers during the development and post-production stages.

Our Support

Our debut films have been showcased at international festivals, museums, and VOD platforms. We act as majority executive producers (Acts of Love - Hot Docs Toronto), co-producers (Au Jour d’aujourd’hui - IFFR Rotterdam, Thessaloniki IFF), or in the development phase (The Mother of All Lies - Cannes Un Certain Regard 2023, Best Director Award and Golden Eye for Best Documentary).

Our Distribution

Our films reflect an editorial freedom made possible by the variety of our partners and funding sources. Since 2022, Arte Cofinova has supported our cinema development catalog, and we are members of the SPI, Eurodoc, Atelier Network, European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA), as well as Women Make Movies networks.

The Hutong

These traditional dwellings in the centre of Beijing are home to art and creative spaces that, at least when we were there in 2015, offered a refuge from censorship. Whilst promoting French cinema and visual arts in China, we were inspired by the energy and freedom of these neighbourhoods to set up our own independent production company on our return to France.

PAULINE TRAN VAN LIEU AND LUCIE REGO

Pauline Tran Van Lieu
Pauline Tran Van Lieu
Lucie Rego
Lucie Rego

In 2014, Lucie curated the first exhibition in Paris of the Chinese photographer Ren Hang, whose work is now recognized in the international art scene. At the same time, she assisted in monitoring the CNC's Aid to World Cinema and later joined the French Embassy in Beijing, where she worked on setting up visual arts exhibitions in China. After several experiences in production at Alcatraz Films and Aurora Films, Lucie founded her company in 2018 with Pauline Tran Van Lieu. With the projects she develops at Hutong Productions, she participates in IDFAcademy workshops, Pitching du Réel, as well as the Chabaka co-production workshops in Carthage and Agora Docs in Progress in Thessaloniki. Lucie is a reader for the Images Différentes commission of the Normandy region and the CNC's Innovation Aid Fund.

Pauline Tran Van Lieu is a French producer whose work has screened at Berlinale, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, BAFICI, IFFR Rotterdam & New Directors/New Films, among others. A graduate of La Fémis’ Ludwigsburg-Paris producing program, she has programmed for Angers' Premiers Plans IFF and the Césars, France’s Academy Awards. She also coordinated the Émergence residency, supporting directors as they developed their first feature films in France. Starting in 2013, she spent two years working at the French Embassy in Beijing, screening French cinema for Chinese audiences. In that capacity, she programmed a Claire Denis retrospective, supervised China’s first official co-productions, and surveyed transformations in the Chinese film industry. She has also worked in distribution and world sales at The Match Factory in Berlin. Since 2018, she has produced films through Hutong and was selected to Marseille’s FIDLab, the Marrakech’s Ateliers de l’Atlas, DOK Copro Market & Berlinale Talents. Founded with Lucie Rego, the company based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, is part of Eurodoc, Atelier Network, European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) and Women Make movies. Their co-productions got support from CNC’s World Cinema Fund, IDFA Bertha Fund, Arte France or France Televisions.