The first “arthouse cinema” on the Chinese mainland, Broadway Cinematheque MOMA (BC MOMA), made its debut on the weekend, with the opening of the Fourth Chinese Young Generation Film Forum on Sunday, Nov 1. Legendary Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Taiwanese actor and director Leon Dai were both on hand for the opening.

Supported by Beijing New Film Association, BC MOMA is run by Hong Kong Broadway Cinematheque, whose cinema, cafe and bookstore in Kowloon has long mean a mainstay of Hong Kong film culture. The new Beijing Broadway Cinematheque is situated in the northern part of MOMA at Dongzhimen.

“Besides commercial films, we aim to screen diverse art films, which audiences are not able to see in mainstream Chinese cinemas,” explains manager Yang Xin. “It will also be a good venue for film festivals.”

Although it remains unclear exactly what kind of art films BC will be screening, the new facility surely marks a big leap forward for film culture in the capital. The lack of arthouse screens in Beijing has long been a glaring hole in the city's aspirations to be a cultural metropolis of international standing.

Surrounded by water, BC MOMA is a well-designed facility comprising three screening rooms with a total of 400 seats, a small film library with a mini screening room, a bookstore, and a café. There is also a display about milestones in film history.

The library on the second floor provides members with various film magazines, film books, and a good selection of DVDs and soundtracks. Monthly events will include film retrospectives, talks and training in film production. The mini screening room will be used for independent films.

The opening of the Chinese Young Generation Film Forum, organized by the Chinese Film Association, was BC MOMA's inaugural event. The forum aims to promote young directors’ work and help them attract investment. This year's forum is focused on communication between China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Forty-five films, ranging from experimental works to short dramas will screen as part of the forum at BC MOMA, SAGA Cinema (www.sagacinema.com) and Yingxie Cinema (www.yingxieyingyuan.cn) from Nov 1-6. All screenings are free. For a complete program (in Chinese only) see here. All films are in Chinese, while some have English subtitles (unfortunately organizers were unable to specify which titles are subtitled).

Watch this space for news of future BC MOMA events.