Beijing International Film Festival gets competitive

The red carpet is being rolled out as the third Beijing International Film Festival is due to begin. This year will be a twist on previous festivals as a competition element has been added for the films featured. An all-star jury committee, including Chinese director Gu Changwei and renowned Russian film-maker Nikkita Mikhalkov, will deliberate over who takes home the "Tiantan Award".

Although this is the first year the Beijing International Film Festival has featured the Tiantan Award, some 531 films from 56 countries and regions have already joined the race.

Shu Xiaoguang, Assistant Director of China Film Art Research Center, said, "This is a crucial part of this film festival. No award no festival. Because without this awarding mechanism, it would be very hard to stretch our influence."

7 famous film-makers from 6 countries have been invited to sit on the jury committee. Russian film-maker Nikkita Mikhalkov, and South Korean director Je-gyu Kang, famed in China for his work "Shiri", are among them. Also in attendance is Chinese director Gu Changwei and Zhang Yibai.

Together, they will be judging ten awards including Film of the Year and Director of the Year. After three rounds of selections, 15 films from 11 countries have made it to the finals, competing for ten awards.

Domestic movies include "Back to 1942" by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang. Some foreign films are also in the running for the awards, including English director Mike Newell's adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations"