Dozens of movies with sports related themes will be screened free of charge at a variety of locations around Beijing in the coming week, thanks to a public welfare project that kicked off on Saturday.

The poster of Kung Fu Dunk (Photo from sina.com)

The fourth annual Beijing Youth Public Welfare Film Festival will run through May 18 with 25 popular films including Jay Chou's Kung Fu Dunk to a far-flung area of residential communities, schools, and suburban villages, according to a Xinhua news agency report.

Volunteer interpreters will be available at the showings to help visually-challenged youngsters enjoy the films to their fullest.

Sports themes will dominate the festival this year to coincide with this summer's Beijing Olympic Games, Xinhua says.

The 79-year-old actress Tian Hua and the younger stars Guo Tao and Wang Baoqiang attended Saturday's opening ceremony to show their support as well as the Olympic-winning diver-turned actor Tian Liang.

From 2005, the Beijing Youth Public Welfare Film Festival has held some 2,000 free movie screenings for one million young movie fans, according to Xinhua.

(CRIENGLISH.com May 11, 2008)