Viewers can have 'Love Affair' at Beijing film festival

Movie buffs will soon be able to celebrate with a visual feast at the Beijing International Film Festival, where nearly 500 high quality films will be shown - the largest selection this year in the Chinese capital.

The movies were selected from more than 2,000 titles from 100 countries and will be screened in 30 cinemas and colleges around Beijing from April 8 to April 23, Zhang Xiaoguang, deputy head of China Film Archive, said Thursday.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the iconic Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's death, up to 13 of his classics - from his debut feature Story of a Love Affair to the 1995 romance Beyond the Clouds - will be screened as an homage to the master.

Such highlighted talents also include cult director David Lynch of the United States and the versatile Taiwan filmmaker Sylvia Chang, whose representative works are on the recommended lineup.

The list also has some movies that earned awards at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in February, such as the best movie winner On Body and Soul and best director winner The Other Side of Hope, by Aki Kaurismaki of Finland.

A retrospective section will include movies produced by the Shanghai studio Wenhua, a company founded in 1946 that ushered a new era of Chinese art-house films, Zhang said, giving viewers "a glimpse of Chinese cinematic culture and history".

While the festival delights die-hard fans, it also will soon make Beijing a hot word in film circles around the world. The opening and closing ceremonies on April 16 and 23, respectively, will be attended by a number of celebrities, including Italian actress Monica Bellucci, Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica and Oscar-winning British actor Sir Ben Kingsley.

The Tiantan awards, the festival's highest honor, will be presented to 10 winners selected by an international jury headed by Oscar-winning Danish director Bille August.