The 2003 International Documentary Film Festival was launched in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, last Sunday and will continue until Monday.

More than 130 documentary producers from 10 countries are participating in the festival, the first of its kind in China, organized by Guangzhou Television and the Guangzhou Foreign Cultural Exchange Association.

With the theme of cultural heritage and cultural diversity, 13 seminars are being held, alongside the smorgasbord of documentaries being aired.

A total of 147 documentaries registered for the event and among them, the five-member judging panel has selected 59 finalists to compete for the grand prize, the judges' award and five special awards.

The panel consists of Mitzi Goldman, head of documentaries at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, Annick Demeule, executive committee member of IFTC/CICT at UNESCO, Michel Noll, an independent producer from Germany, Mohammad Afarideh, president of the Iran Documentary and Experimental Film Center, and Zvi Dor-Ner, executive producer from WGBH.

The finalists -- 18 Australian, 18 Chinese, five American, four French, four German, two Italian, two Iranian, two Japanese, one Canadian, one Danish and one Belgian producation, in addition to one co-production between Australia and America -- have been showcased on Guangzhou Television since November 11.

(China Daily December 19, 2003)