Actress Zhao Wei attends the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo: CFP

Several Chinese-language films are showing at the Venice film festival, which inaugurated its 71st edition in the Italian water city on Wednesday.

Red Amnesia, directed by Wang Xiaoshuai, is among the 20 titles competing for the Golden Lion, the highest prize given to a film at the festival.

The film tells the story of Deng, a retired widow who spends her days caring about her two grown-up sons and her elderly mother, despite her family's efforts to stop her. Her daily routine starts derailing when she keeps receiving anonymous calls.

Wang said in a statement that he was inspired by his 70-year-old mother who, after his father's death, still wanted to take care of the director and of her grandchildren. "Her life made me reflect on Chinese people's way of life," Wang said.

Dearest directed by Peter Ho-sun Chan and played by Chinese actress Zhao Wei, will show in the Out of Competition selection.

The film's story is centered on a couple, Tian Wenjun and his ex-wife Lu Xiaojuan, who find their ordinary lives thrown into complete turmoil when their son goes missing.

Chinese-language film makers have witnessed their best years at Venice under the festival's former artistic director Marco Muller, with multiple Golden Lions won by directors including Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou.