Two Chinese films are expected to be top draws at this year's British Film Institute London Film Festival, which kicked off on Wednesday night Beijing time.

Directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Dearest is a film about child abduction and has been selected for the official competition section, while Jacob Cheung's wuxia (martial arts) epic The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom will have its international premiere and headline the festival's cult strand.

The two films join seven other Chinese films that are part of the 12-day festival's 248-strong lineup of movies from across the world. It also highlights Electric Shadows, a yearlong program by the BFI to encourage creative and business exchanges between China and the United Kingdom.