Festival highlights Chinese film, culture

LONG BEACH - Cal State Long Beach will host the 2010 Chinese Film and Culture Festival Oct. 14-21, a weeklong series of events that will feature Chinese dignitaries, screenings of recent Chinese films, and a cultural heritage and craft exhibit.The festival will also serve as the kickoff to the Chinese and American College Student Animation Competition. 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 on Thursday, Oct. 14, will be held in the William Link Theatre (formerly the University Theatre) from 10-11 a.m. and will include remarks from CSULB President F. King Alexander, Chinese Vice Minister of Culture Wenzhang Wang, Chinese Consul General Yun Zhang, California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado and CSULB Provost Donald Para. Wang is scheduled to announce the beginning of the Chinese and American College Student Animation Competition, which is open to current animation and art design majors and will conclude with an awards ceremony in July 2011. He will also present the university with a gift of Chinese books and films. Ten films exploring how Chinese media producers envision their society for domestic and international audiences will screen in the Beach Auditorium-University Student Union, Room 115, during the festival. A panel discussion with film producers, directors and actors will follow each film, and there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience. A special event screening of "New Kangding Love Song," will be part of the festival but won't be held until Tuesday, Oct. 26, beginning at 6 p.m. in the William Link Theatre. This screening, too, will feature a panel discussion with director Jiang Ping and China Film Group's vice president. From Oct. 14-18, a cultural heritage and craft exhibit will be held in the University Student Union Ballroom. Artists demonstrating traditional Chinese handicrafts, including fabric and paper cutting art, leaf vein painting, calligraphy and more. The exhibit will also include detailed models of Hakka Tulou (earth buildings) from the Yongding, Fujian Province, will be on display. The festival is being presented in collaboration with CSULB's College of Continuing & Professional Education, the Ministry of the People's Republic of China; Beauty Media, Inc., a Chinese private media company; and ICN TV Network, a U.S.-based Asian television company. For more information regarding the 2010 Chinese Film and Cultural Festival at CSULB, go to the website at www.ccpe.csulb.edu/ChineseFCF or call Heidi Zhang at 800/963-2250, ext. 54060.

********** Published: October 7, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 25