Thunderous applause and continuous, loud cheers of "hao!"-- the Chinese equivalent of "bravo!" - swept the Auditorium of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the west of Beijing last Sunday afternoon, right after Chok Dee (Good Luck), a new French action movie with a touch of romance, was shown to a packed house.

"It is really exciting to watch the French rendition of a Thai boxing movie," said Zhang Yi, 25, an ardent moviegoer working for a public relations company. "The film is not just a movie about boxing. It vividly portrays a young man's unwavering struggle to fulfil his cherished dream. I like the film and the lead actor very much."

During the Q&A session which followed, members of the audience bombarded film director Xavier Durringer, and lead actor Dida Diafat, the world Thai boxing champion, with a barrage of questions. Many others jostled for autographs from them.

"I am so honoured to see that people from the homeland of kung fu love my movie!" said Durringer, who revealed he is an ardent fan of Chinese kung fu and kung fu films.

Later this year he will be shooting on the Chinese mainland another kung fu movie, also starring Dida Diafat.

Durringer is in China as a member of the French film industry delegation. They have brought with them 13 of the latest French feature and documentary films produced in 2004 and 2005 for "the French Cinema Panorama 2005," the second of its kind.

As part of the Year of France in China, the film screening event opened in Beijing last Friday evening with a French comedy Je Prefere Qu'on Reste Amis (Just Friends), scripted and directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.

The film fest for Chinese audiences is running in five major cities, including Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Chengdu and ends on April 17. It is supported by the State Administration for Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) and co-organized by the French embassy and UniFrance, a production and trade promotion organization for French films abroad.

At the opening ceremony, leading Chinese celebrities such as actresses Zhao Wei, Yu Nan, and Qin Hailu, film directors Gu Changwei, Li Shaohong and Lu Chuan, woman fencer Tan Xue, TV anchor Liu Fangfei and pop singer Lao Lang, acted as presenters.

The works are said to represent the newest and most active force in the French film industry. All the films are in French with Chinese subtitles.

Right after each screening, a brief discussion about the film content and French culture is held between directors, actors and actresses and the audience.

Most of the screenings are reported to be sell-outs. But for some Chinese moviegoers appreciating the French films, especially those more dialogue focused and in a narrative form, one not familiar to many Chinese audiences, has been difficult.

"I found it too hard to relate my life to the film, though I was told before coming here that the director is famous and his work is great," said Li Jun, 46, a cab driver who, with his son, watched the latest offering by renowned French director Arnaud Desplechin, Rois et reine (Kings and Queen).

In two parallel narrative lines, the film zooms in on the lives of two former lovers: Nora looks after her terminally ill father and Ismael, a brilliant musician, plans his escape from a psychiatric hospital.

Unlike many American films they have become accustomed to watching in recent years, many Chinese viewers say French films are not easy to understand.

But still the misperception and confusion caused by some of French films might simply be a result of the choices for this French film festival in Beijing, other Chinese movie-watchers argued.

"Watching French films offers the average Chinese a rare chance to learn more about this European nation, which has a long history and a splendid civilization just like China does," said Wang Yan, a second year student majoring in cinema studies at the Sorbonne in Paris.

French films also give Chinese film makers much food for thought, she said.

"Compared with many films from North America, French films are more refined and delve to a deeper level of human nature. French cinema is a necessary counterbalance to Hollywood flicks in the global film market," Wang added.

And in a program on the event, Tong Gang from SARFT wrote: "Film is one of the best loved art forms of Chinese and French people. Quality films promote mutual understanding of different cultures, histories and traditions of different peoples."

The screening of the films reveals the French film community's continued efforts to bring their works to a larger audience in China, local critics say.

In 2004 most of the 10 French films screened during the First French Cinema panorama were reportedly sold to Chinese distribution companies, according to Unifrance general manager Veronique Bouffard.

"The French film community sees China as a film market of considerable potential,' she told China Daily. It is hoped that in the future, using this year's screenings as a springboard, French films will reach an even wider Chinese audience.

During their stay in Beijing, the French film delegation has met with Chinese film officials, film distributors and leading Chinese filmmakers.

(China Daily April 13, 2005)