Manchester Airport, alongside Hainan Airlines, is launching a Chinese film festival that will travel the length and breadth of the UK to celebrate movies and culture from China.
Each event 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.
Starting in Manchester on 22nd February the Chinese film festival will run until 11th April and take place in 12 UK cities.
A full list of places and dates can be found below.
Films being shown include Hero, Operation Mekong and Call of Heroes.
Hero is a 2002 Chinese wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke’s assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC.
Operation Mekong is 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.
Call of Heroes, previous known as The Deadly Reclaim, is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, with action direction by Sammo Hung, and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Eddie Peng, Yuan Quan, Jiang Shuying, with a special appearance by Wu Jing.
Hainan Airlines started flying direct to Beijing four times a week from Manchester in June last year, and the festival has been arranged to showcase the vibrant culture of China, which thanks to the route, is much closer and accessible for UK residents. 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.
Patrick Alexander, Head of Marketing at Manchester Airport said: “We are pleased that Hainan Airlines are headline sponsors of Manchester Airports first ever film festival, where we will showcase Chinese culture to a range of people across the UK. 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.”
List of Cities/Dates:
Date |
Location |
Time |
Film |
22/2/17 |
HOME, Manchester |
6pm |
Hero |
23/2/17 |
FACT, Liverpool |
6pm |
Hero |
1/3/17 |
Everyman Cinema, Leeds |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
2/3/17 |
Curzon Cinema, Sheffield |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
9/3/17 |
Phoenix Cinema, Leicester |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
15/3/17 |
Foster Building UCLAN |
6pm |
Operation Mekong |
16/3/17 |
The Electric, Birmingham |
6pm |
Operation Mekong |
21/3/17 |
Nottingham Contemporary |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
23/3/17 |
Prince Charles Cinema, London |
6pm |
Operation Mekong |
29/3/17 |
Filmhouse, Edinburgh |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
30/3/17 |
GMAC, Glasgow |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
11/4/17 |
The Strand Arts Centre, Belfast |
6pm |
Call of Heroes |
Find more information or to register to attend one of the events,