Natalie Portman. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

The sixth Beijing International Film Festival opened its curtain on Saturday night, with big names such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Chow Yun-Fat and Natalie Portman gathering at the Yanqi Lake to walk the red carpet.

According to the organizers, Natalie Portman is appearing at the event as director, with her maiden work A Tale of Love and Darkness to be shown at the film panorama section.

"I have been working in the film industry for over 20 years, and I have been wanting to direct my own film, now it's a dream come true. I hope the audience would like it," she said at the red carpet interview.