Continuing a run of ethnic and cultural-based film programs at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, this year's Chinese Film Festival kicks off with four Hong Kong thrillers, follows with two acclaimed films from mainland China and ends on an illustrated lecture on the Silk Road.

While the program starts on Tuesday, the festival's opening reception is Saturday, June 5, at 6 p.m. at the academy, featuring live music by members of the University of Hawaii Chinese Music Ensemble and food available for purchase from Indigo Restaurant. The screening of “;Beast Stalker”; follows at 7:30 p.m.

2010 CHINESE FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

» ”;Connected”; (screens at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through next Friday): A remake of the 2004 Hollywood action movie “;Cellular.”; When a single mother and her young daughter are kidnapped by a group of mysterious and ruthless killers, their only hope of rescue is a complete stranger whom she reaches on the phone by chance. Director Benny Chan reportedly spent two years with his screenwriters to hone and adapt the original to Chinese cultural sensibilities for this '08 release.

» ”;Beast Stalker”; (screens at 1 and 7:30 p.m. June 5; also 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. June 6, 8 and 9): A no-miss action flick with a powerful performance by Nicolas Tse as a tough cop who accidentally kills one of the twin daughters of a prosecuting attorney during his relentless pursuit of a triad boss. When the titular character—a one-eyed killer-for-hire—kidnaps the twin sister of the dead girl, the cop vows to protect her at all costs. It features a spectacular opening car stunt sequence choreographed by legendary Hong Kong stunt director Bruce Law.

» ”;The Equation of Love and Death”; (screens at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. June 10, 11 and 13): A neurotic but feisty cabdriver, longing to be reunited with her missing boyfriend, runs into a couple of violent criminals and triggers a series of unexpected events that hold the key to uncovering the secrets behind her beloved's disappearance. Zhou Xun's tour de force of a performance earned her the Best Actress award at last year's Asian Film Awards.

» ”;Assembly”; (screens at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. June 15, 16 and 18; also 1 and 4 p.m. June 17): Touted as China's answer to “;Saving Private Ryan,”; this film by acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang brings the little-known Chinese Civil War to light. It is a visceral and respectable film based on a true story. A Communist Chinese captain and his soldiers must prevent a mineral mine from succumbing to the approaching Nationalist Kuomintang army. After the terrible battle and the war, the captain wanders the country as a nearly deaf veteran.

» ”;Last Train Home”; (screens at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. June 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24): The return screening of an award-winning documentary that was first shown during last month's Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase. Director Lixin Fan focuses on one couple who are part of the millions of migrant workers who travel home each year for the New Year's holiday, a two-day journey to see their children for the only time in the year. Their hopes for their children's future away from dreary factory work are undone when their teenage daughter, crippled by a sense of abandonment, drops out of school to become a migrant worker herself.

» ”;The Story of a Closestool”; (screens at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. June 25, 26, 27, 29 and 30): This strange and comical film is a charming portrait of rural life set in southern China that takes place in the early 1980s after the fall of Mao Tse-tung. A dreamy young woman, who is trapped in the confines of a traditional family and whose primary responsibility is to empty her little brother's chamber pot, is thunderstruck when, at a fancy party, she discovers a washroom with a modern, Western-style toilet. Her family's egalitarian neighbors become equally surprised when, after the girl's discovery, her family decides to construct a separate, up-to-date washroom on their premises.

» ”;Silk Roads: Chinese and Islamic Cultural Relations”; (screens at 7:30 p.m. June 17; $5 general admission, $3 academy members, free students with ID): An illustrated lecture by Morris Rossabi, a historian of China and Central Asia from Columbia University and the author of the recently published “;Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists.”; It examines the artistic, scientific and cultural conflicts between East and West Asia, highlighting colorful Chinese, Arab and Persian historical figures.