The three-day Seventh Changchun China Film Festival opened in the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province on Monday. This year, the event is dedicated to celebration of the centenary of China's film industry.

The biennial national festival trains the spotlight on Chinese feature films. This year, 176 movies are scheduled to participate, twice the number of the last festival. Eighty-seven films from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been selected to compete for eight final awards.

Film fans, especially those from Changchun, will be able to catch glimpses of many of their favorite actors and actresses live as well as to view many of the nation's best films.

Forums on 100 years of development within the film industry and on the Changchun Film Studio's future will also be held.

Time to Love, directed by Huo Jianqi and starring Lu Yi and Zhao Wei, was screened at the opening ceremony.

Established in 1992, the biennial Changchun Film Festival is co-sponsored by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, the provincial government of Jilin and the Changchun municipal government.

(China Daily, China.org.cn January 11, 2005)