MADRID, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The second edition of the Lychee International Film Festival opened in Madrid and Barcelona on Friday with the aim of showing the best of Chinese independent cinema, the festival's president and founder Lin Yu explained to Xinhua.
"I think it is an area of audiovisual culture which is still empty," he said, explaining that "cinema is a language which helps people communicate better. The Wedding Banquet of director Ang Lee, Eighteen Springs of the director Ann Hui are among the films to be screened.
The festival lasts until Sept. 21 and contains a selection of 20 films, along with concerts and discussions about Chinese cinema. Its organizers, the Association of Chinese and Spanish Cinema (ACCE), expect it to attract around 8,000 visitors.
The Lychee Festival also has the support of the Madrid and Barcelona Town Halls and the Official Tourism Office in Spain.
The event is divided into three sections: the thematic section -- Love in the 90's, the Official Selection in Competition and Wild Flowers, contemporary Chinese short films.
"I think that people will be surprised to see that Chinese cinema is so contemporary," said Lin Yu from the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, which is one of the venues for the festival.
He said that he thought the stories which people will be able to enjoy will help the two cultures grow closer together and they show they share several things in common.
Last year's first edition of the Lychee Festival was held in Barcelona, but has expanded to Madrid this year with the aim of repeating the positive criticism it received 12 months ago.
One of the discussions at last year's festival was given by Spanish Director, Isabel Coixet and experiences like that will be repeated this year and in coming editions.
"This festival is our passion, but it is also reflecting an era that the world of cinema is experiencing at the moment. China is making a huge effort to produce artistic films," concluded Lin Yu.
