(XINHUA)

Chinese netizens have expressed interest in a documentary about the Diaoyu Islands filmed by a Hollywood director, which made its debut in Beijing on March 23. Plans for more domestic screenings are underway.

The 40-minute film, Diaoyu Islands: The Truth, directed by Chris D. Nebe, a 76-year-old German, carried the message that the islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times and that Japan annexed them from China in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War. The film urged Japan to make apologies for the crimes it committed during World War II.

The documentary, premiered earlier in March in Los Angeles, is one of 12 documentaries in Nebe's Mysterious China series introducing Chinese history, culture and rapid development to the world.