The second edition of Portugal's cinema festival kicks off on Monday, with more than 70 movies on show across the country.

The movies will be screened in more than 500 cinemas, with tickets sold at 2.5 euros(2.83 U.S. dollars) during three days.

More than 250,000 viewers are expected to attend the festival, which is an initiative by the Portuguese Association of Cinematographic Companies and supported by the Institute of cine and Audiovisual (ICA).

Last year, more than 200,000 people attended the festival, the aim of which is to "celebrate the cultural and social act of going to the cinema," said Filomena Serras Pereira, President of the ICA,  in a statement.

According to the ICA, Portugal saw the biggest rise in the number of audience at cinemas in the European Union. Portugal saw a 20.4 percent year-on-year rise in the number of audience in 2015.

Figures by the institute revealed that in 2015 Portuguese cinemas received 14.5 million audience and reported 74.9 million euros in revenue, compared to 12.09 million viewers and 62.7 million euros in revenue in 2014.

The cinema festival taking place this week will screen movies like "Impossible love" by Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos, winner of the Sophia Prize for the Best Film of the Portuguese Academy of Cinema,  and "Arabian Nights" by Miguel Gomes which won national broadcaster SIC's Golden Globe Awards. 

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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