UCLan Confucius Institute to host travelling film festival
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) will host a travelling Chinese Film Festival launched by Manchester Airport and Hainan Airlines to celebrate film and culture from China.
The event on 15 March is free of charge and everyone that attends will go into a competition to win a pair of flights to Beijing direct with Hainan Airlines from Manchester Airport.
The UCLan Confucius Institute will screen ‘Operation Mekong’, a 2016 Chinese-Hong Kong crime action film directed by Dante Lam and starring Zhang Hanyu and Eddie Peng. The film is based on the Mekong River massacre.
Prior to the film, visitors are invited to a guest talk by Chinese visual culture specialist Mr Freddy Gelati who will give the audience a better understanding of the development of Chinese cinema in recent years.
"The numbers of Chinese students, tourists and investments have been growing steadily in this part of the country, directly benefiting the local economy."
Director of the Confucius Institute Feixia Yu commented: “We are really pleased to be working with Manchester Airport in the celebration of the launch of Hainan Airline’s direct flight linking Manchester to the capital of China, Beijing. We believe the direct flights will bring more Chinese visitors to the North West of England. The numbers of Chinese students, tourists and investments have been growing steadily in this part of the country, directly benefiting the local economy. We are also excited to see such increased cultural and economic exchanges as the best evidence of people-to-people diplomacy.
“The screening of this new Chinese block-buster, which will be played for the first time in the UK at the event, is exciting and offers audience a chance to see China from a different perspective. We believe it will be an exciting evening.”
Patrick Alexander, Head of Marketing at Manchester Airport, said: “We are looking forward to bringing our Chinese Film Festival to Preston to showcase Chinese culture to a range of people there. Since the start of our direct service to Beijing, China is now within touching distance of so much more of the UK population, due to our catchment area spanning as far north as Scotland, south to the Midlands, east to Yorkshire and west to Wales and Merseyside.
“With the chance to win flights and the opportunity to meet people from the airline it is a great opportunity for film buffs, travel fans or Chinese enthusiasts, to learn more about this exciting brand and destination.”
"With the chance to win flights and the opportunity to meet people from the airline it is a great opportunity for film buffs, travel fans or Chinese enthusiasts, to learn more about this exciting brand and destination."
The UCLan screening will take place on Wednesday, 15 March at 6.00pm in Foster Building with the guest lecture beginning at 5.00pm in the same venue.
As well as visiting Preston, the Manchester Airport Chinese Film Festival will run until 11 April and take in 12 UK cities.
Hainan Airlines started flying direct to Beijing four times a week from Manchester in June last year. The festival has been arranged to showcase the vibrant culture of China, which thanks to the route, is much closer and accessible for residents of Preston. The route makes Manchester the only airport outside of London with a direct service to Mainland China, taking just 10 hours. It is served by an A330-300 with 292 seats, 32 of which are business class with lie flat beds.
For more information on Manchester Airport or Hainan Airlines see: www.manchesterairport.co.uk or www.hainanairlines.com