In a project named Vision Beijing to promote the Olympic host city, the Chinese capital invited Italian Giuseppe Tornatore, Majid Majidi from Iran, Patrice Leconte from France, Daryl Goodrich from Britain and Andrew Lau Wai Keung from Hong Kong to each make a short film telling stories about Chinese people's preparation for the August 8-24 Games.

It took 600 days to finish the project, Wang Hui, an official from the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee, said yesterday.

The five films will be screened on CCTV-2 on Thursday and they will also be on Beijing TV and the national TV stations of Italy, France and Iran. Sohu.com will put the films online for global viewing.

In Tornatore's first trip to China, the Academy Award winner for "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" in 1988, made "Reunion," telling a story about how a group of students and their teacher got back together after 30 years.

It was also the first China visit for Majidi.

"I am most impressed by middle-aged and retired people, who have great passion for life," he said.

But Majidi, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with "Children of Heaven" in 1998, chose his favorite subject, children.

In "Colors Fly," Majidi focused on children looking forward to the Games.

Leconte was a stranger to the city, too, but he soon caught up with his knowledge of the Chinese capital, shooting "Beijing - A Film Impressionistic."