Russia, China to hold WWII-themed film festival

A festival of World War II-era Soviet movies will be shown in China for the first time ever, Russia's state movie fund Gosfilmofond said Monday.

The "Eternal Flame" retrospection will be held from Aug. 26 to Sept. 12 in Beijing and the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, Gosfilmofond said in a statement.

The festival is devoted to the 70th anniversary of Soviet and Chinese joint victory in WWII over German and Japanese aggressors, the statement said.

In total, seven movies will be shown. None of them has been shown in China before.

The festival, initiated by a host of Russian and Chinese state and commercial organizations, is aimed at increasing Russia-China cultural connections and cooperation, Gosfilmofond said.

"The organizers believe the festival would raise interest in our common history," it added.

In the fall 2015, a similar festival of Chinese movies about WWII will be held in Moscow and Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg.