The China Film Festival with the theme of “China Film Centennial – The Inheritance of Films” will kick off on September 15th, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 4-day festival features a total of 18 outstanding Chinese productions in recent years, restored classic films and 2 local Malaysian films. A host of sharing sessions by both Chinese and Malaysian filmmakers will be held alongside the film festival.

Film exchange between China and Malaysia spans over a century. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Labourer’s Love – the earliest Chinese silent film available today. The silent film, New Friend, produced in 1927, is also the first Chinese silent film shot entirely in Singapore and Malaya. This year’s festival is a collaborative efforts brought to audiences by the China Film Archive, entrusted by China Film Administration, in partnership with China Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur and Chinese Film Association of Malaysia (CFAM) in order to showcase the centennial and splendid achievements of the Chinese film industry, and to promote collaborations between Chinese and Malaysian filmmakers.

The China Film Festival is supported by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia of Malaysia, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia and the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS). H.E. Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia, Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima TPr Annuar bin Haji Musa, Minister of Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, and Sun Xianghui, the Director of the China Film Archive sent best wishes for the success of the film festival. In their congratulatory messages, they also highlighted the outstanding achievements of Chinese-Malaysian collaboration in the film industry.

The China Film Festival will be held at Dadi Cinema, Pavilion KL, featuring a total of 20 Chinese and Malaysian films. Some of the Chinese films to be screened include blockbusters like Cliff Walkers, Hi, Mom, A Writer’s Odyssey, Leap and The Wandering Earth. Chinese-Malaysian co-productions On Your Mark and Three Adventures of Brooke; animation Boonie Bears: Back to Earth and White Snake; restored films from the 20s to 60s Labourer’s Love and Uproar in Heaven; documentary The Great Learning and Chinese opera White Snake are also among the list.

One of the highlights of this inaugural film festival is the two Malaysian films featured. You Mean the World to Me is the first Malaysian film featured entirely in Penang Hokkien while Think Big Big is a locally directed Chinese New Year comedy.

“A total of 20 excellent films will be publicly screened in this film festival; 60% of which are new and many are making their premiere in Malaysia. In terms of the scale, quality or participation, the film festival is, indeed, a Carnival of Cultures. Besides, the selected films cover a wide range of topics, which bring to a great balance between the new and the classics; domestic and foreign; and the entertaining and technical aspects of films. This film festival also portrays major cinematic achievements of the Chinese film industry and showcases the great potential of collaboration between Chinese and Malaysian filmmakers. It is hoped that film can be the special medium that pulls together Chinese and Malaysian talents, and continue to use this medium in telling great stories and forging new friendships.”, says Zhang Jiexin, the Director of the China Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Leonard Tee, President of the Chinese Film Association Malaysia (CFAM) says, “Malaysian Chinese films share deep historical roots with China. The history between the two extends from the first Chinese-language Malaysian film New Friends, to the similarities shared in terms of language used and cultural practices. Albeit on a small scale, I hope the diverse topics featured in the first China Film Festival will provide a visual feast for local viewers. There is no shortage of good films in China. In the 100 years since the first Chinese film was produced, China has accumulated a rich essence of film creation. The films featured in the film festival include silent films, documentaries, Cantonese opera and other blockbusters. We hope that the audiences can deeply dive into the charismatic world of Chinese movies through the films featured. As for the two local films, it is hoped that exchange of thoughts can be achieved with the mixture of Chinese and Malaysian films, at the same time, to showcase how the new generation of Chinese in Malaysia can tell their sides of the stories through a common language.”

As another high point of the film festival, a sharing session will be held on September 13th at the China Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Well-known film directors, scholars and producers from China and Malaysia will be invited to a hybrid in-depth discussion surrounding the topic “THE EXPLORATION OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE FILM AESTHETICS” and “THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE MALAYSIAN CHINESE FILM”.

The China Film Festival will launch on September 15th, 8.00pm, at Dadi Cinema, Pavilion KL with the movie On Your Mark. Directed by Malaysian director Chiu Keng Guan, On Your Mark follows the story of a father and son who come to understand each other through a marathon. The film tops the country’s box office after releasing in China last year. Three Adventures of Brooke, directed by Yuan Qing is the closing night selection that features the adventures of a Chinese girl who travels alone to Alor Setar, a distant town in Northern Malaysia. As the result of a blown tire, she experiences three variant adventures.

All 20 films selected for the China Film Festival will soon be opened for ticketing on the DADI CINEMA Malaysia website. Each ticket costs RM10 and each film is only screened once. Do not miss your chance! Besides, viewers will receive a stamp for every movie watched. A collection of 10 stamps will be entitled for a redemption of an exclusive gift and DADI CINEMA vouchers worth RM50. Redemption is on a first-come-first-serve basis, while stock lasts.

Purchase your tickets here: https://www.dadi.my/#/film/index