A film festival celebrating Chinese movie industry's centennial showcases the rich variety of Chinese cinema, from Shanghai classics to war film and, yes, kung fu movies, writes Xu Wei.

Chinese cinema is more than just kung fu films - a fact that is ably demonstrated at a film festival celebrating the centennial of Chinese cinema.

Organized by Shanghai Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV and Shanghai Film Group, the month-long festival is screening more than 120 movies of different generations, periods and artistic styles at 50 cinemas around town.

"Our goal is to make this a festival and movie carnival," says Liang Xiaozhuang, deputy director of Shanghai Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV.

"Highlights include 10 classics produced by the Shanghai Film Studio, including Purple Butterfly, Red Valley, A Warm Winter and Lu Xun," says Xu Pengle, vice president of Shanghai Film Group.

Also on the screening schedule are newly released films, including Chen Kaige's The Promise, Peter Chan's Perhaps Love, Zhang Yimou's Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and Jeff Lau's A Chinese Tale Story.

In keeping with the spirit of a film festival, which has "something for everyone," the event also features old war films, profiles and documentaries, commercial features and art-house works.

And yes, there are kung fu films, as well. Zhang's Hero, House of Flying Daggers and He Ping's Warriors of Heaven and Earth are among the martial arts epics on show.

Other highlights include thrillers and disaster films, Crash Landing and Red Snow, the animation blockbuster Lotus Lantern, sentimental romances such as Comrades: Almost a Love Story, and award-winning art movies such as Red Sorghum, The Yellow Earth, Farewell My Concubine and Hoh Xil. Vintage films are also included in the lineup, such as Street Angel (1937) and Song of Youth (1959).

Shanghai is a logical place for a film festival celebrating the movie industry's centennial. The cradle of Chinese movies in the 1930s, Shanghai continued to play an important role in the development of China's film industry through the 1950s and 1960s, and is still a major player.

Raised on films, Shanghai audiences are robust, as well. Shanghai United Cinema Lines, the city's leading cinema chain, has already taken in about 200 million yuan (US$24.7 million) from the screenings of 170-plus movies this year, a 10- to 15-percent growth compared with the same period a year earlier.

"We have a flourishing film market in Shanghai," notes Xu. "The high artistry of our movies and our attention to our market will take the domestic film industry to a new level."

(Shanghai Daily December 19, 2005)