On October 7, Cheng Hongbo, Acting Consul General of PRC in Toronto, attended the opening ceremony of the first Toronto Chinese Film Festival (TCFF). About 600 guests from the local political, business and cultural circles attended the opening ceremony and watched the opening film.

Mr. Cheng said that TCFF has built a platform to promote cultural exchanges and cross-cultural communication. He believed that through different types of excellent Chinese films, local people can have a deeper experience and understanding of contemporary Chinese society and play a positive role in the field of Sino-Canadian cultural exchanges. He invited local friends of all ethnic groups to visit China and experience the rapid changes in contemporary China. A real, comprehensive and vibrant China is believed to be more vivid and exciting than any movie.

The five-day film festival will screen six films from China and Canada, including the realistic work "Article 20", the inspirational story "Lion Rock" adapted from real life story in Hong Kong, the healing "Hachiko", the comedy "Successor",  "Iron Road" that reflects the history of blood and tears of Chinese laborers building the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the short documentary "Eating Bitterness" that reflects on the dark history of Canada's implementation of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" a century ago. The festival also sets up short film awards to encourage young film and television creators.