Good news for film lovers! In the week before Beijing's sixth International Film Festival, which opens on April the 16th, more than 400 films will be screened in 25 cinemas and colleges around the city. The festival itself will offer a wide variety of genres, from a century-old classic to science-fiction franchises.

Natalie Portman will bring to Beijing her directorial debut, "A Tale of Love and Darkness". Portman has had an avid following in China since her first appearance in Luc Besson's 'Leon: The Professional'.

And, classics like D.W. Griffith's 'Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages', from 1915, and a 3-D remake of Bernardo Bertolucci's 'The Last Emperor' will also be shown.

"The Big Short"

Also, for the first time, Beijing Film Festival is to open a section of sci-fi films, with screenings scheduled for the four films of the "Alien" franchise and all seven "Star Wars" episodes.

"2016 also marks the 90th birth anniversary of the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe and the 100th birth anniversary of Billy Wilder, one of the most versatile filmmkers of Hollywood. Some special sections will commemorate them," said Sha Dan, film festival curator.

"We will release more tickets and packages some two to three weeks before the event kicks off. There will be various kinds of marketing for selling the tickets from the last week of March," said Lin Siwei, head of "Film Panorama", BJIFF.

Tickets are available from Gewara and Weipiao, two major online booking systems.