The Australian Embassy Beijing and ANZ are delighted to announce the 2009 ANZ Australian Film Festival, which will run from 4-13 December in Beijing.

The festival will feature an exciting mix of newly released and classic Australian films, award winning animations and groundbreaking documentaries.

The films cover a wide range of genres including animation (Mary and Max and Happy Feet), drama (Razzle Dazzle, Samson and Delilah and Look Both Ways), powerful historical films (Ten Canoes, Australia and Kokoda), comedy (Kenny) and a collection of finalist short films from Tropfest, the world�s largest short film festival.

The ten feature films will be screened at Megabox cinema in The Village at Sanlitun over 4-13 December. All films are screened in English with Chinese subtitles.

�Australia has a vibrant and highly developed film industry, with a strong reputation for innovation and fresh talent on the international stage,� said the Australian Ambassador Dr Geoff Raby. �It is my great pleasure to introduce the 2009 ANZ Australian Film Festival and to showcase to Chinese audiences the very best and latest films that Australia has to offer�.

�We are very grateful to ANZ, one of Australia�s largest investors in China, for again joining us as the Title Sponsor for this year�s festival,� Dr Raby said.

ANZ is the only Australasian bank with both local and foreign currency commercial banking capabilities in Mainland China. ANZ branches are located in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with sub-branches in Shanghai and Beijing planned to open before the end of the year. Recently ANZ became the first Australian bank to open a rural bank in China, in Liangping County, Chongqing.

Eight award winning Australian documentaries will also be screened at a special Made in Australia session at iDOCS International Documentary Festival from 11-13 December at the Beijing Film Academy. iDOCS International Documentary Forum will enable Chinese audiences to enjoy some of the world�s best documentaries and provides a platform for local movie fans and people from the film industry to meet many of the world�s leading directors face to face. Two Australian documentary makers, Amanda King and Mark Lewis will be attending the iDOCS festival.

The 2009 ANZ Film Festival will also be sponsored and supported by The Village at Sanlitun and The Opposite House as well as Telstra, Qantas, Tourism Australia and the Australia-China Council.

As The Opposite House continues to extend its support towards the arts, Australian General Manager, Anthony Ross shares �We are delighted to be the venue for the opening of this exciting festival as it further broadens our involvement into all areas of the art scene in Beijing.�

For further information on the Australian Film Festival, please contact Zhang Hong on 51404246 or email: naihong.zhang@dfat.gov.au.

- ENDS -

Swire Hotels

Swire Hotels has been created to manage intriguing urban hotels in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United Kingdom, providing a luxury experience for travellers who seek individuality, style and personalised service.

The Opposite House, Beijing, opened in 2008 and was followed by the opening of a 117-room small intimate hotel, The Upper House, in Pacific Place, Hong Kong, in October 2009. Swire Hotels will open a 345-room lifestyle business hotel called EAST in Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong, in January 2010.

In the United Kingdom, Swire Hotels is developing a collection of stylish boutique hotels in interesting English towns and cities to be launched in 2010.

Issued by Grebstad Hicks Communications on behalf of Swire Hotels.

For further information on The Opposite House, please contact

Ms. Carol Kong / Ms. Denise Ho Grebstad Hicks Communications Tel: (852) 2810 0532 Email: carol.kong@ghcasia.com / denise.ho@ghcasia.com