SYDNEY, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The 66th Sydney Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday night, with a red carpet gala commencing 12 days of global cinema screenings and events, from June 5-16.

Honored with opening the festival was local film Palm Beach by director Rachel Ward. The film was shot on Sydney's picturesque Northern Beaches and stars a raft of local talent.

"Launching with Palm Beach is the perfect salute to great Australian filmmaking in a year that will showcase a bumper list of contemporary Australian stories," New South Wales State Minister for the Arts, Don Harwin said.

The festival also prides itself on delivering choice flicks from around the globe, treating local audiences to a truly international cinematic smorgasbord.

"The Sydney Film Festival's growth and evolution has reflected that of Sydney itself, giving us a window to other worlds, to enjoy new and different ways of thinking and being, and to reach a greater understanding of ourselves and our own place in the world," Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.

Asian cinema is a growing passion for many Australians and is broadly represented at this year's festival, ranging from heart wrenching human dramas to mind-blowing documentaries.

Screening at the esteemed State Theatre is Wang Xiaoshuai's film, So Long, My Son, which features highly celebrated performances by Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei as a couple facing the joys and challenges of adoption.

Offering an alternative view on modern China is the artful documentary, Up the Mountain, in which filmmaker Zhang Yang takes audiences on a slow and meditative journey to visit an art class in remote southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Also receiving attention is the offbeat murder mystery, "Ondog", from director Wang Quan'an which sees the sixth generation Chinese filmmaker return his attention to the starkly beautiful Mongolian landscape, where his tale of love and intrigue plays out.

During the opening night festivities, New South Wales government officials took the opportunity to announce additional funding to support the festival's success and growth into the future.

"The Sydney Film Festival Board are thrilled and grateful to the New South Wales Government for this renewed and increased support," Sydney Film Festival Board Chair, Deanne Weir said.

"The government's commitment recognizes the ongoing success of the Festival as one of the great film festivals of the world; and the leading role New South Wales plays in the Australian film industry," Weir said. Enditem