Houston film festival's China focus draws praise from industry

HOUSTON - The recent 52nd WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in Houston, in the US state of Texas, paid a great deal of attention to Chinese movies and moviemakers. And it drew praise from movie industry insiders for this shift in focus.

Speaking about the change, Megan Botha, who is responsible for international business development in Z Lab USA LLC, a Houston-based global marketing firm, says: "I grew up with American movies, obviously Western movies ... was really, really excited to see what Chinese movies are like."

One of the two opening-night movies of the festival was The Star and the Sea, co-directed by Li Qiankuan and Xiao Guiyun, and first screened in China in 2011. It is a moving drama about the impoverished childhood of one of China's most famous composers, Xian Xinghai. His Yellow River Cantata was the most inspiring piece of music during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) in World War II.