Films from China are spotlighted in this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, with epic Chinese filmmaking represented by Jiang Wen’s The Sun Also Rises, an operatic tale of love and madness set in the 1970s, starring Joan Chen.

VIFF’s annual Dragons & Tigers competition has been won by some of Asia’s most promising filmmakers and 2007’s Chinese film spotlight marks an expansion of the series, which draws films from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

As VIFF’s programming associate Mark Peranson points out, the Dragons & Tigers Award for young filmmakers, which includes a $5,000 cash prize, has become a real attraction for Eastern auteurs. ‘A lot of today’s biggest Asian filmmakers premiered their first films at the VIFF,’ he says.

Secret Sunshine from South Korea’s Lee Chang-dong and Useless by China’s Jia Zhangke mark the return of two past Dragons & Tigers Award winners. Secret Sunshine also arrives bearing the Cannes festival best actress award, won this year by lead Jeon Do-yeon.

The Chinese film category comprises movies from the mainland and Hong Kong, and Chinese-language films from Malaysia and elsewhere. Hong Kong and mainland films have tended to remain distinct – politically, artistically and commercially.

‘A lot of Hong Kong films still never play the mainland,’ Peranson notes.

The Chinese government has played an increasing role in supporting major international film projects, and government approval is usually required when Chinese films play major festivals. Flouting such official approval can result in censure and penalties. But according to Peranson, smaller festivals like Vancouver’s are better positioned to operate under the radar. Films that might not gain government approval can play VIFF without necessarily earning their makers the official difficulties that might result from wider attention.

A shining example is the North American debut of Fujian Blue. Weng Shouming’s documentary traces the desperate journeys of would-be emigrants to the Fujian district, a jumping-off point for the West.

Vancouver audiences will get another rare treat with the world premiere of Bing Ai, the story of a Chinese peasant woman who refuses an official order to move to make way for the Three Gorges Dam Project.

VIFF hosts the North American debut of Fengming: A Chinese Memoir, documentary filmmaker Wang Bing’s tale of an elderly writer and her husband, persecuted as enemies of the party during the 1950s and ’60s.

VIFF will also have its share of major Asian releases. Hong Kong director Johnny To’s The Mad Detective will play the festival as his Exiled screens at art houses around North America.

Glory to the Filmmaker, described as Japanese actor/director Kitano ‘Beat’ Takeshi’s own 8 ½, will follow its Toronto festival screening with a West Coast encore.

Peranson also says the growing profile enjoyed by the Dragons & Tigers series has increased Vancouver’s industry importance. Because important young Asian filmmakers have used Dragons & Tigers as a career launching pad, distributors seeking Asian cinema know that Vancouver is the place to go to meet young directors and see their work.

Maintaining that profile is now a two-man job. Asian programmer Tony Rayns has been joined by Shelly Kraicer, taking over responsibility for Chinese-language cinema. Kraicer is a Chinese-speaking Canadian film scholar based in Beijing.

Festival director Alan Franey says getting some help was crucial. ‘We were able to convince Tony Rayns to stay on at least this year by lightening his load,’ Franey said recently. Rayns has remained in charge of non-Chinese-language East Asian films and overseeing the Dragons & Tigers competition.

With average attendance hovering around 150,000, Vancouver now trails only Toronto among North American festivals. No Clooney or Pitt, of course. But the sushi’s a lot cheaper.