Africa, with its rich culture and history, is a wonderland in the eyes of the world. Its local arts, music, and people give the land magic and unique charm.

The French Cultural Centre in Beijing will show a selection of African films telling real stories and bringing real experiences of life in Africa.

The opening film is a Golden Lion nominee from the 2002 Venice Film Festival, Flora Gomes's Nha Fala. A woman from a family that has been placed under a curse travels from her home in Cape Verde to France and finally returns home to face up to tradition.

This musical comedy presents wonderful African music and its mysterious tradition.

The centre will also show other films portraying the beauty of Africa, like Katy Lena Ndiaye's Traces: Women's Imprints, offering the exclusively feminine art of this region's mural paintings. And Jean-Marie Teno's A Trip to the Country, in search of what he calls tropical modernity the poor fit between Western technology and African tradition.

As more and more people around the world are drawn to Africa's art and culture, many African films have received great attention on international screens.

The ongoing African film festival offers audiences a selection of internationally regarded films.

There are also some film festival winners on offer, like Moussa Sene Absa's Madame Brouette, which won the Silver Bear for Best Film Music of 2003 at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Ousmane William Mbaye's Xalima la Plume with Great Simplicity, a documentary following a folk music star, opens a window on African music. It is also the winner of the Best Documentary of 2004 at the Milan African Documentary Festival.

The Queen Mother will close the festival, recording director Idrissou Mora Kpa's experiences as he returns to his village in Wassangari land, Benin. As the rain adds to the void left by his father, his journey turns out to be a voyage of discovery around his mother, a woman who did nothing but serve his father, and heiress to her husband's royal title.

The African film festival opened yesterday and will run until the end of the month. For more information visit www.ccfpekin.org.

(China Daily November 4, 2006)