Public invited to join free open events as part of Cumbria's first Chinese Film Festival

The Lancaster Confucius Institute, Keswick Museum and the Keswick Alhambra Cinema are hosting two free events as part of the MINT Chinese Film Festival being held at the Keswick Alhambra 3-5 February, to give locals and visitors a flavour of Chinese culture and Spring Festival celebrations.

The Keswick Museum will host a drop-in Chinese Lunar New Year of the Rabbit craft session between 10.30-12.30 on the morning of Saturday 4th February: staff and students from the Lancaster Confucius Institute will guide participants in activities such as lantern-making, calligraphy and traditional paper-cutting. No booking necessary - just head on over!

From 1-1.45pm there will be free entry to an interactive Chinese fan dance performance at the Alhambra Cinema, led by professional Chinese dancer Leo Zhenglang Chen. Places may be limited so free tickets should be booked in advance on the Alhambra's website.

The MINT Chinese Film Festival is bringing over 100 participants from across the country for a specialised programme of Chinese films with a particular focus on women in film - but at 2pm on Saturday there is a very accessible screening, of a film most will have heard of: the multi-award winning 2000 international blockbuster Crouching Tiger HIdden Dragon (12A), which is often cited as the best wuxia (martial arts) feature ever. This screening was selected for the Festival by Keswick School's Young Programmers, and is a particularly apt choice, as the storyline is mostly driven by three female characters. Tickets are available for booking now - at the instigation of the Young Programmers, young people in groups of four get tickets at just £5 each at the Alhambra, for this and all other films.