After witnessing people being killed during smuggling deals, Hong Lei gives up his criminal life to build an elementary school for poor children. But his past comes back to haunt him and he has to pay his dues.

Lei is one of the protagonists in Lethal Hostage, a thriller set on the Chinese-Burmese border that is one of eight award-winning films being screened this week during the Chinese film festival.

The China Cultural Centre launched its first film festival in Malta on Tuesday night in a bid to raise awareness about the Asian country.

Held under the patronage of the Chinese Embassy in Malta and the China State Administration of Press, the festival is being organised in collaboration with the Malta Film Commission.

The cultural centre hopes the festival will strengthen cooperation between the Maltese and Chinese film industries.

The festival will be held until Sunday at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, in Valletta and a Chinese delegation led by the deputy director-general of Film Bureau, Luan Guozhi, is in Malta for the occasion.

Some of the films screened during the festival were shown during a similar festival in London last week where, Mr Guozhi said, the audience would, through the films, get a glimpse of “the profound changes brought to China” after it opened up.

Two films – Mother and Finding Mr Right – will be screened at 7pm and 9pm respectively today and another two – Full Circle and The Grandmaster – will be shown tomorrow while the film Lethal Hostage will be shown on Saturday at 3pm.

Three films will be screened on Sunday, including a cartoon at 3pm, Silent Witness at 6pm and Aftershock at 8.15pm.

Seats, at €3, have to be booked online via www.sjcav.org or by e-mailing boxoffice@sjcav.org.

More information is available by telephoning 2122 3200 and at www.sjcav.org/page.asp?n=Eventdetails&i=5349&z=2.