TO celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, the first China-Malaysia Film Culture Festival was held at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur's Dadi Cinema in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur from June 21 to 23.
In addition to screening 11 outstanding Malaysian and Chinese films, there were forums for filmmakers, providing a platform for interaction between Malaysian and Chinese filmmakers and audiences and for collaborations between the two countries' film industries.
The China-Malaysia Film Culture Festival was fully supported by the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas) and the Communications Ministry.
The festival's organising chairman, Aron Koh, said that in recent years, the Malaysian film industry has flourished and actively sought to expand its exchange and cooperation with the Chinese film industry.
He said: "Through this film festival, we hope to introduce to the audience the film projects co-produced by China and Malaysia, facilitate exchanges among filmmakers from both countries, stimulate the creativity of students in film disciplines, and provide a platform for cross-cultural exchanges in the global film industry.
"I hope this festival will further promote cultural understanding between China and Malaysia, and further advance cooperation between the two nations to jointly create more exciting and world-class works."
Koh added that the festival could be held in different cities in both countries every year.
The opening ceremony of the festival on June 21 featured the screening of the Malaysian-Chinese action drama 'Victim(s)' which was directed by Layla Yi of China.
The film starred Chinese and Malaysian stars including Huang Lu, Lin Yi Ting, Fu Xian Rui, Xu An Zhi, and Han Jia Hao.
The story revolves around mothers seeking the truth behind a high school murder case.
The film received critical acclaim when it was screened in major film festivals such as the 14th FIRST Youth Film Exhibition in China and the New York Asian Film Festival in the United States over the last year.
It won the Audience Choice Silver Mulberry Award at the 22nd Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy recently.
The other films included 'Small Town Heroes' directed by Ryon Lee, Roh, Sheriff: 'Narko Integriti', 'Prebet Sapu', 'Born To Fly', 'No More Bets', 'Wandering Earth 2, Creations Of The Gods 1: Kingdom Of The Storms' and 'One And Only'.
The festival was launched by Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching and attended by Finas chairman Datuk Kamil Othman and its chief executive officer, Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib.
Teo said that Malaysian filmmakers should aim high by working with their foreign counterparts in order to give Malaysian films a boost and spur the film industry's continued growth.
On May 31, Malaysia and China celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which were established in 1974 following the visit of the then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein to Beijing, China where he met the then Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong.