WHEN & WHERE?
06. May 2014 at 19h00
Rosenthalerstraße 40/41, 10178 Berlin
ABOUT "CROCODILE IN THE YANGTZE"
The film tells the story of China´s first global internet company, Alibaba Group, showing its growth from an apartment-based startup to an E-Commerce giant employing more than 16,000 staff. With the use of 200 hours of archival footage filmed by over 35 sources between 1995 and 2009, CROCODILE IN THE YANGTZE strikes a very candid note, objectively portraying Alibaba´s way to success and founder Jack Ma´s battle against US giant eBay for the lucrative Chinese E-Commerce market. The movie´s title is also derived from a famous statement from Jack Ma concerning this battle:
“Ebay may be a shark in the ocean, but I am a crocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we lose — but if we fight in the river, we win."
The screening is now more relevant than ever as Alibaba is planning its IPO at the New York Stock Exchange, and it is expected to be the biggest tech IPO as of now, even topping Facebook’s stunt two years ago.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Director and producer Porter Erisman had worked as Vice President at the Alibaba Group for 8 years, witnessing the high profile battle against eBay along the way. After his parting with the company, he decided to make a film of Alibaba´s rise from an insider´s perspective. Porter stresses that Crocodile in the Yangtze is his own independent production, and that Alibaba Group and CEO Jack Ma had no influence over the content.
The director's screening is invitation-only. If you do not have an invitation code, you can apply here!
ABOUT LEVERATE MEDIA GMBH
Leverate Media GmbH, Berlin, is the leading alternative media agency for young high-growth companies in Germany. By enabling alternative media deals with leading media-owners, Leverate is able to offer startups the possibility to cautiously scale their business model liquidity. Leverate utilizes online and offline channels, as well as offering flexible billing solutions (Media for Equity/ Revenue). Leverate Media, additionally, acts as market introducer for established, foreign companies that want to enter the German market. Finally, Leverate consults, plans, optimizes and supports such companies to well-position them in the German (media) market and fulfill their goals. www.leverate.de