Chinese audiences will give their awards to international films to be screened at the 14th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival, which opened in China's southernmost coastal city of Sanya on Wednesday.

Twenty-one foreign movies produced during 2004 and 2005 in 16 countries are on show during the festival, including The Aryan Couple directed by John Daly from the United States, the Blood Tears by Kim Dae-Seung from the Republic of Korea, Love's Brother by Jan Sardi from Australia, and Schiller by Martin Weinhart from Germany.

Eight awards -- two of each for most popular foreign films, directors, actors and actresses -- will be granted by the audiences, in addition to the 15 regular awards for domestic films to be decided on by the experts, said Kang Jianmin, executive vice president of China Film Association, the festival's organizer.

"They (the foreign movies) were selected from more than 70 movies that had applied to participate in the festival," Kang said. "Which of them could get the awards is up to the audiences in Sanya, rather than the experts."

Steven Roeder, a film producer from the United States, said that he had not expected to win an award from the festival, but he did try to seek business opportunities for cooperation with Chinese partners.

"I want to find out how much the Chinese audience like American movies," he said.

Kang said the international film show would provide the Chinese audience with "access to a better understanding of the foreign movies."

Yu Lan, a prestigious actress in China, said the international film show was an initial step for Chinese movies to "melt into" the international filmmaking industry.

"With the first step taken, the second and third steps will sure follow," she said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2005)