MTSU’s free Chinese Film Festival celebrates its 14th semester on Sunday, March 18, with the first in a quartet of films focusing on facing and resolving challenges.

Sponsored by the College of Mass Communication and the Confucius Institute, each movie will begin promptly at 6 p.m. in Room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. Jue Liu, a mass-comm master’s degree candidate, will lead a question-and-answer session after each screening.

All movies in the series have English subtitles and are free and open to the public.

The March 18 film, “A World Without Thieves” (2004), focuses on a pair of con artists who take a businessman’s BMW and head west, where they meet an artless carpenter.

A pregnant peasant’s quest for justice turns comedic and provides a look at China’s changing culture in the 1992 film “The Story of Qiu Ju,” which will be screened March 25.

On April 1, a general in the People’s Liberation Army struggles to overcome his wartime disgrace and ensure recognition for his slain soldiers’ honorable deeds in “Assembly,” a 2007 film.

And on April 8, “Echoes of the Rainbow” (2010) depicts a couple raising their two sons while confronting challenges ranging from class struggles to typhoons.

Dr. Bob Spires, professor of electronic media communication and the festival’s organizer, said student attendance will be taken at each screening and reported to instructors on request.

Founded in 2004, the Confucius Institute is a nonprofit organization established to strengthen educational cooperation between China and other countries. MTSU’s institute celebrated its grand opening in April 2010.

For more information, contact Spires at 615-898-2217 or rwspires@mtsu.edu or the Confucius Institute at 615-494-8696 or cimtsu@mtsu.edu.