China Film Festival 2025: Bridging cultures through cinema

London is shining a spotlight on China's burgeoning movie industry as it hosts the China Film Festival. Local theaters are finding new audiences as they showcase some of the country's latest box office hits.

This year's line-up includes biographic drama The Composer, historical documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, anthology drama My People, My Country and animated fantasy NeZha 2.

"We hope you will find them interesting and enlightening, conducive to your understanding of China, the country, its people and China-UK relations," said Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK.

China's film industry is now one of the world's biggest and the second-largest box office market globally. Last year, total box office revenue reached nearly six billion dollars, almost 80 percent of that came from domestically-produced films.

And internationally it's an opening frontier. More Chinese films are making waves at international festivals.

"China and the UK enjoy a solid foundation for film cooperation with complementary strengths and vast potential for development," said Lu Liang, Deputy Head of the China Film Administration. "Filmmakers from both countries have achieved fruitful results in co-productions, technical exchanges, and film and cultural education."

This year, China's animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 soared to number five on the all-time global box office chart.

But the China Film Festival is more about ticket sales, it offers the audience a chance to engage with Chinese culture, traditions, and perspectives — all through the magic of the silver screen.

"There's so much in our history that so many people overlooked," said Julian Alcantara, Producer and Consultant of Random Character Pictures. "It's amazing how there's incredible connections between countries at times that remind us of our shared history rather than a conflict history."

"There are a lot of stories that remain untold from the east. What's happening in China with the animation industry and the entertainment industry presents a huge opportunity, said Jiella Esmat, CEO of 8 Lions Entertainment. "I really believe in international collaboration."

"Just socializing with Chinese people and understanding that we are similar just from different cultural backgrounds, I think it all helps," said Mark Lahiff, Managing Director at Innova Partnership.

As cinema screens light up the dark and the dialogue continues, the story of China keeps unfolding in the flickering of the moving image.