Beijing film fest closes with mixed prospects

The weeklong second Beijing International Film Festival closed Saturday night at the Beijing Olympic Park, with a concert featuring memorable classic film music.

The British Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra performed a string of classic film music, wowing the audience with tunes including the themes of "Star Wars", "Titanic", "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter" and "Mission Impossible", as well as Chinese classic scores from movies such as "Hero", "Assembly", and "The Road Home."

New Zealand diva Hayley Dee Westenra, Chinese tenors Wang Hongwei and Ding Yi also performed songs with the orchestra, such as "My Heart Will Go On."

Beijing authorities organized the Beijing film festival in the same way they organized the 2008 Olympics. The major venues for the event were at the Olympic Park, and even the background music and final song performed at the opening and closing ceremony were that of the Olympic theme "You and Me". Also, the Olympic slogan "Welcome to Beijing" was widely used.

The "small film Olympic" did put on a great show, even more so given that it's only the second year for the film festival. It attracted 4,000 film professionals from home and abroad, including legendary director James Cameron and a million visitors. Cameron and film executives from 11 international studios explored a wide range of topics during the high-profile seminars and forums, from 3D to Sino-foreign co-productions.

"The festival will prove to be a milestone in the history of Chinese film development," Cameron said at the very beginning of the fest.

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