Chinese cinema eyes overseas market

BEIJING - A total of 64 Chinese films, including "Beginning of the Great Revival," a star-studded epic marking the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, have been selected for an official screening program meant to generate interest in overseas markets.

This year's Beijing Screenings, an event scheduled to run from April 24 to 27, will host more than 130 overseas guests from the film industry. The guests will attend screenings of films ranging from commercial blockbusters to low-budget projects, according to a statement released Wednesday by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the event's organizer.

Selected films also include Hong Kong auteur Tsui Hark's period martial arts feature "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" and "Kora," a true event-based drama about a Taiwanese college graduate who rode 2,000 km to Lhasa in order to complete the journey of his older brother who died halfway through his own journey.

The film, a mainland-Taiwan co-production directed by mainland newcomer Du Jiayi, won the Best Artistic Contribution award at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival in 2011.

According to the organizing committee, overseas guests include buyers, distributors, producers, investors, critics, film experts and officials from over 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Festival programmers will also be present to select films for their own film festivals in Canada, France, Australia and other countries.

Beijing Screenings, first held in 1996, is a key official event for promoting Chinese films in overseas markets.