Following the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Chinese films, Beijing students launched their annual film festival on Sunday.

The 14th Beijing Student Film Festival opened at Haidian Theater yesterday. Hundreds of movie fans and students from the Central University of Finance and Economics, Communication University of China, Beijing Normal University, and other institutions attended the event.

A total of 35 films that made the final cut will be shown to college students and moviegoers in Beijing at Beijing Normal University and the China Film Archive from April 8 to 28. Low-cost tickets are also available at many cinemas.

Open to the public, the 20-day film fest this year features everything from the latest Chinese films to foreign classics, as well as a variety of short films by students.

The "Chinese Universities Film Tour" is one of the major parts of the annual film festival. Huang Huilin, the founder of the film festival and the dean of the Art and Communication College of Beijing Normal University, introduced the theme of this year's event.

"This year happens to be the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, so the theme of the film tour this year is to mark the historical moment. There will be many Hong Kong films and films that reflect the lives of Hong Kong people as part of this film tour."

Tuya's Marriage's leading actress Yu Nan

The opening film in Beijing, Tuya's Marriage, which won the Golden Bear award at this year's Berlin Film Festival, formally launched the student film festival on Sunday afternoon in Beijing. The cast of the film, including director Wang Quan'an and lead actress Yu Nan, who also won the best actress award at the 12th Beijing Student Film Festival, appeared at the opening ceremony to promote the energetic film fest.

When asked about the difference between going to the Berlin Film Festival and Beijing Student Film Festival, director Wang Quan'an appeared relaxed and comfortable.

"Berlin is just like you've received an invitation as a guest to attend a banquet that is held by another family. However, the student film festival is just like a feast hosted in your own home. You can feel like a host and enjoy it more."

Besides the film tour, the New Asian Film unit will feature many films from Japan, South Korea, and India. Forums on film academies will also he held during the festival.

The film festival also took place in Shanghai last week, with actress Zhao Wei's latest film The Longest Night in Shanghai as its opening film.

(CRI.cn April 9, 2007)