The ongoing China Women's Film Festival is showing 45 foreign and Chinese films, including Lipstick Under My Burkha from India, Killer Smile from China and Martha & Niki from Sweden. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China, the world's second-largest movie market after the United States, is dominated by male filmmakers.

There were almost no female filmmakers for years after the industry started in China in 1905, analysts say.

While the numbers have improved in recent times, the country's female filmmakers don't enjoy the same visibility as their male peers.

The festival is seen as offering a space to such female directors, especially young film school graduates, Li says.

The lack of funding is another challenge that female filmmakers face in China, which possibly explains why some prefer documentaries over other genres.

"Many investors feel that a male director is in better control of a film. It is a greater insurance," says Wang Xinyi, a 27-year-old filmmaker in Beijing.

Wang's film The Relic－being screened at the festival－is an experimental short film in which she uses projections and special effects to show the other side of China's urbanization.