Six Italian movies showcased at an international festival

The second From Venice to China event was held in Beijing from April 12 to 21 and showcased six Italian films selected from the 75th Venice International Film Festival in September.

The event was part of the Beijing International Film Festival, which is themed "Focus on Italy". The six films, including Death in Venice, The Anarchist Banker and The Prophecy of the Armadillo, were shown at the China Film Archive.

Speaking at a media conference about the event, Italian ambassador to China Ettore Sequi expressed the hope that China and Italy will cooperate in many more fields, and especially in film production.

"Film is a method of communication across languages, so not only this 'Focus on Italy' event but also Chinese films shown at the Venice International Film Festival, are all part of a cultural exchange between the two countries," says Sequi. "And I hope films can deepen the exchange between the two countries."

The event was held by the Venice Biennale and the ANICA, or the National Association of Cinematographic Audiovisual and Multimedia of Italy, and was co-hosted by the Italian embassy in China.

Lucia Borgonzoni, an undersecretary with Italy's Ministry of Culture, was in China for the event.

She met representatives of the film industry in China and also invited China to send films to the Venice International Film Festival.

Chinese actress Tan Zhuo, who was the event's ambassador, says she loves the food, wine and art of Italy, and especially Italian films.

"I like Italian films like Malena, Cinema Paradiso and Life Is Beautiful, and these classic films are always in my dreams. This time, six Italian films were brought to China, and I hope the audience learned more about Italy from the films."

The Chinese film, Lotus, starring Tan, was shown at the Venice International Film Festival in 2012.

The trophy that the Italian soccer team won at the 2006 Germany FIFA World Cup was shown at the news conference. And it was specially lent by the Italian Football Federation for the signing of the agreement of cooperation between Italy and China to make the film, Super League.

Miao Xiaotian, general manager of the China Film Co-Production Group, who was at the signing, says: "'Focus on Italy' is a window for filmmakers of the two countries, and I hope the window can bring more cooperation beyond films."

Meanwhile, the Hainan International Film Festival that was held for the first time in December is also seeking cooperation opportunities with the Venice International Film Festival.