TORONTO -- A Toronto film retrospective that started on Thursday will shine a spotlight on Chinese art, films and culture.

By showing more than 80 titles from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong at the Toronto International Film Festival, "A Century of Chinese Cinema," the largest Chinese film exhibition in North America, will explore the history of China and feature some of its biggest stars.

Celebrated Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige's award-winning film "Farewell My Concubine" opened the series Thursday night. Chen will introduce "Yellow Earth" on Friday, another movie he directed.

"Twenty years ago, you wouldn't be able to imagine that Toronto will hold a Chinese film exhibition," Chen said during a press conference. "I think we all know that the TIFF has become very important. People are showing the significance of Chinese film industry by holding this exhibition."

Fang Li, the Chinese consul general in Toronto, hopes that activities like the exhibition will help bridge the culture gap between China and Canada and showcase China's talented artists.

"I hope the audience can better understand China's profound culture, the life of ordinary Chinese people and their thoughts by watching films."

Noah Cowan, the artistic director of TIFF's headquarters and curator of the exhibition, said the main goal is to provide a snapshot of Chinese cinema to the audience.

"I believe cinema provides the best window into that world, into the world of what makes China tick today," he said. "If you go back and look at this century of cinema you see all the changes, caught in time, told through these beautiful, beautiful stories by some of the greatest artists ever."

Cowan said choosing just 80 films to depict a century's worth of history was not easy. Besides the acknowledged masterpieces, most of the films chosen represent key periods of Chinese cinema.

"A Century of Chinese Cinema" lasts until August 11. A free visual art exhibition by Shanghai-based artist Yang Fudong and world-renowned cinematographer Christopher Doyle will be held during the exhibiton.

Chinese star Jackie Chan will head to Toronto later this month to introduce some of his best films and the upcoming Police Story 2013.