The inaugural Chinese Film and Cultural Festival is meant to improve communication and understanding between China and the U.S. through cultural and artistic exchange.

A collection of 12 Taiwanese films are ready to take the 15th Pusan International Film Festival by storm this week to show Taiwan's cinematic prowess, the Government Information Office (GIO) said yesterday, two days before the festival is set to kick off.

Drawing a link between the release of Nelson Mandela 20 years ago and the reunification of East and West Germany in the same year, the German Consulate in Cape Town is hosting a series of exhibitions, debates, films and music events.

Under the title 'Resistance in Iranian Cinema' a Week of resistance films kicked off on Sunday at Damascus-based Kindi Cinema. The week is held by Iranian Cultural Chancellery in Damascus in cooperation with the General Organization for Cinema in Syria and the Institution of International Festival for Resistance Films in Iran.

How might the Republic portray itself to European audiences as a dynamic global city through arts and culture or forge relationships through cultural diplomacy? With Finger Players' puppet theatre skits, Royston Tan's film 881, Peranakan artefacts and a Singapore Chinese Orchestra performance, among others.

The festival, which was co-sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) along with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), was marked by extremely poor attendance and below par organisation by the hosts.

Apart from a menu of 50 films from various South Asian countries, chairperson of the Pakistan Film Censor Board (PFCB) Nilofar Bakhtiar will be one of the main highlights of the South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) that begins in Goa Sep 17.

China's Communist Party finds itself in a bind. Although it still views cinema as an ideological tool and maintains a tight leash on local productions, it also wants the domestic film industry to develop into a global commercial player.