A screening of a Chinese classic, Spring in a Small Town, has opened the second edition of the festival of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Macao, says the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau.

The Bureau issued a written announcement quoting its Vice-President, Chan Kai Chon, as saying at the opening ceremony that the Chinese and Portuguese film industries developed in parallel, each having shown its first film in 1896.

Mr Chan said the festival was an occasion for exchanges among the film industries of Mainland China, Macao and the lusophone countries.

The announcement says that between July 4 and 17 the festival will show 26 films made in Mainland China, Macao or Portuguese-speaking Countries, and that talks will be given before and after each is screened.

The film festival is part of a larger festival of the arts and cultures of China and Portuguese-speaking world being put on by the Macao Government, the Cultural Affairs Bureau says.