A ceremony was held in the Jinsha Site Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Monday morning to mark the beginning of the shooting of the Sino-Italian romantic comic There Is Always A Reason in the southwestern Chinese city.

The film which will be shot both in Sicily, Italy, and Chengdu has the Italian producer and director Maria Grazia Cucinatta as the leading actress and the Golden Horse Award winning Chinese actor Huang Bo as the leading actor.

It tells how a young Chinese chef (starring Huang Bo) goes to Italy with the intention of cooking authentic Italian food. He meets a local woman (starring Maria Grazia Cucinatta) who has lost heart in love. They are attracted to each other. Although the cultural shock hinders their relations, they are in love at long last.

As Cucinatta is higher than Huang, the issue became a highlight in the ceremony.

"Height is not the problem. In love, appearance always comes last," Cucinatta said.

"Of course, I will remember not to be in high heals," she said with a touch of humor.

The movie with scenes of both Sicily and Chengdu is expected to have its premiere at the end of 2012.

Cucinatta said that she hoped the film would serve as a bridge promoting the friendship between Italy and China.

"There are many kind-hearted Italian and Chinese in the film who add a lot of fun and the moving story," she said.

Cucinatta who is best known for her roles in Il Postino and as the Bond girl, the Cigar Girl, in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough said she knew the giant panda and the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan.

"I am impressed by many interesting places such as the Jinsha Site Museum, the panda base and Jinli in Chengdu which has the potential to be a great open movie-shooting center," she said.

And she hopes that more Chinese can better understand her birthplace Sicily through the film.