The newest Chinese mainland-Hong Kong movie “Confucius” and a direct descendant of the great thinker opened here on Friday evening the 24th Bulgarian film festival Cinemania.

“For the first time, we will open Cinemania with one superb Chinese film,” Dimiter Dereliev, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Culture told the opening ceremony of the 17-day festival where 72 movies will participate.

The Chinese ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou said they sincerely hope that the screening of this movie will build between China and Bulgaria a bridge of mutual understanding, to deepen mutual understanding and respect between Chinese and Bulgarian people, and to stimulate the process of Sino-Bulgarian and Sino- European cooperation.

Kong Xianglin, a 75th generation direct descendant of Confucius, said Confucius was the greatest Chinese thinker, educator and politician, and also one of the greatest philosophers of the world.

Earlier on Friday Kong, who is paying a one-week visit in four Bulgarian cities ending on Tuesday, gave a public lecture in the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry entitled “The ideas of Confucius and China’s development.”

Many Bulgarian media were interested to take an interview from him.