By Liu Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-26 10:56

"I was invited to make a film about sports, about children and to celebrate the Olympic Games. That's what I do, and that's why I came to Beijing, and I had a wonderful time."

Also focusing on ordinary people was Giuseppe Tornatore, who worked to create a touching portrayal of average Beijingers.

His film opens during a busy Beijing morning, when bus driver Li Li recognizes an elderly woman doing tai chi in the park as his former teacher.

So Li pens letters to her former classmates, including an architect, a Peking Opera singer, a tricycle rider and a martial arts coach. Through introducing these classmates' professions, she introduces Beijing's ancient and modern landmarks - the Temple of Heaven, National Center for Performing Arts and Olympic venues - in a natural and engaging way.

At the end of the film, the old classmates surprise their teacher by gathering outside of her home and shouting their own names.

"I have loved this city for a long time," says the director of widely acclaimed works such as Cinema Paradiso, The Legend of 1900 and Malena. He says in a statement the film was inspired by his observation of the expectations and confidence in young Chinese people's eyes, as well as their respect for tradition.

Many ordinary Beijingers volunteered to help during Tornatore's shooting. Some of them were among those doing tai chi in the park; some were bicycle riders; others showed up as the old classmates.

Iranian director Majid Majidi is another master storyteller taking part in the filming. Although Iran's only Oscar-nominee joked that "featuring a civilization with 5,000-year history in five minutes is very hard, because every minute is 1,000 years", he found a way to do it - through its people.

Named Colors Fly, the film features a group of children writing good wishes on balloons of the five colors of the Olympic rings. The children then transport the balloons by bike to release them into the sky.

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