"Avatar" director James Cameron and 3-D photography guru Vince Pace's company has announced that it will set up a China headquarters in the city of Tianjin, a move to promote 3-D technologies among Chinese filmmakers, broadcasters and game designers.

While the second Beijing International Film Festival is setting a record by screening 200 foreign films and inviting international stars and directors, Chinese movie companies are shifting and re-organizing standards in face of overseas competition.

"The Plan for the Development of Chinese New Commercial Films" was announced on April 25 in Beijing as part of the 2nd Beijing International Film Festival.

Three of China's leading internet companies will forge an online video partnership to buy licensed video content amid soaring costs of copyrighted videos and TV series.

Though few documentaries make significant profits, Chinese cinemas still make room for documentaries each year, both domestic and international productions. Documentaries such as The Bund (2010), Ocean (2011) and The Somalia Truth (2012) were all warmly welcome in China.

During his 5-day busy schedule in China, "Avatar" director James Cameron has met with Zhang Yimou , hoping to persuade the major Chinese filmmaker into doing 3D movies.

At a forum held in Beijing on Tuesday, China's top film officials, international executives and filmmakers,have agreed to explore the Chinese film market's potential through co-productions.

On the eve of the second annual Beijing International Film Festival on Sunday night, some 200 movie industry movers and shakers piled into the trendy Lounge in Beijing, washing back petit fours and hors d'oeuvres with champagne under the vaulted brick ceilings.

Animation in film has come a long way since Disney's black and white classic Steamboat Willie dazzled audiences nearly a century ago. With seamless computer animation now the benchmark of Pixar films, it's easy to forget the medium's humble beginnings.