On November 24th, the 4th Leicester Chinese Film Festival hosted by USTB-DMU Confucius Institute was grandly opened at the Showcase Cinema. More than 100 Chinese and foreign guests gathered at this film festival to enjoy the feast of Chinese culture.

There are three interactive zones outside the venue for the opening ceremony: guessing the film from the poster, spinning a handkerchief, and experiencing Chinese character, which quickly shortened the distance between the audience and Chinese culture. In addition, volunteer teacher HUANG Xinjia's guzheng performance and JING Xu's face-changing of Sichuan opera performance were fascinating, and vividly showed the charm of Chinese traditional art.

On the opening ceremony, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of USTB-DMU Confucius Institute,Shushma Patel, fully affirmed the Confucius Institute's continuous efforts in promoting cultural diversity and wished this film festival a complete success. ZHANG Yi, Chinese Dean of USTB-DMU Confucius Institute, then delivered a speech, thanking all walks of life for their support for Confucius Institutes and Chinese films, and looking forward to further promoting multicultural exchanges at this event.

The theatrical performances inside the venue were wonderful: the short play Magical Leaves performed by all volunteer teachers vividly interpreted the story of the spread of tea along the Silk Road; The Tai Chi and Mulan Fan performances The Beauty of Rhyme combine hardness and softness in perfect harmony, showing the philosophical wisdom of balance and flow in traditional Chinese martial arts; The folk music ensemble Melody of Cathay performed by the Leicester Art Troupe depicted a magnificent picture of splendid landscapes of China.

This year's film festival lasted for one week, selecting seven Chinese film masterpieces, covering animation, martial arts, literary films. Through the deep integration of film art and cultural dialogue, this cinematic feast opens an important window for British audiences to see the real and dynamic contemporary China.

Draft: YAO Guannan

Reviewer: Zhong Jingjing