LONG BEACH - Cal State Long Beach will host its second annual Chinese Film and Culture Festival Oct. 20-26.The free weeklong event will focus on the unique treasures of Tianjin province in China and includes screenings of recent Chinese films as well as a cultural heritage and craft exhibit. The goal of the festival is to improve communication and understanding between China and the United States through cultural and artistic exchange. The event is open to the public. The opening ceremony, to be Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, will include remarks from CSULB president F. King Alexander, CSULB provost Donald Para, officials from China's Ministry of Culture, officials from Tianjin province and Qiu Shaofang, the Consul General of China to Los Angeles. The ceremony will also include a performance by the Peking Opera and a Bian Lian (Face-Changing) performance. During the festival, eight films exploring how Chinese media producers envision their society for domestic and international audiences will screen in the Beach Auditorium at the University Student Union, Room 115. A cultural heritage and craft exhibit will be held in the University Student Union Ballroom, where artists will demonstrate traditional Chinese handicrafts such as papercutting and Yangliuqing Spring Festival Pictures, and the fabric sculptures of Chinese artist Chang Cheng will be on display. The festival is presented by CSULB's College of Continuing and Professional Education in collaboration with the Ministry of the People's Republic of China and with coordination assistance from Beauty Media (a Chinese private media company) and ICN TV Network (a U.S.-based Asian television company). For more information regarding the festival and film schedule, call Heidi Zhang at (800) 963-2250, ext. 54060.

********** Published: October 13, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 26