The 13th Silk Road International Film Festival will open in Xi'an on September 19

China News Service, Xi'an, September 11 (Reporter Zhang Yichen) — "Currently, the joint construction of the 'Belt and Road' has entered a new stage of high-quality development. The return of the Silk Road International Film Festival to Xi'an, the starting point city of the ancient Silk Road, carries even deeper cultural expectations and missions of the era," said Ma Qi, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the 13th Silk Road International Film Festival, on the 11th.

On the same day, a press conference for the 13th Silk Road International Film Festival was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi. This year's festival will be held in Xi'an from September 19 to September 23, under the theme "Silk Road Connects the World, Light and Shadow Illuminate Chang'an."

Founded in 2014, the Silk Road International Film Festival aims to comprehensively showcase the achievements of Chinese and foreign film development, build a bridge for film industry exchange and cooperation, and dedicate itself to creating an industry gathering for Chinese and foreign filmmakers as well as a cultural feast shared by all. Since launching its global call for entries in May, the festival has received 2,130 film submissions from 139 countries and regions, reaching a record high in coverage scope.

In addition to expanding its scope, this year's festival has innovatively established the "Silk Road Children's Journey · Children's Film Season" section. Leveraging Shaanxi's advantages—such as a concentration of children's film talent, a complete industrial system, and a mature campus film and television education system—it has planned and launched several exchange activities to boost children's film creation, cultivate market space, expand international cooperation, and empower industrial development. Currently, more than 60 children's films have been collected globally, with 15 outstanding shortlisted works selected.

For the first time, this year's festival has established a "Deep Cooperation Mechanism for the Country of Honor," inviting Egypt as the Guest of Honor. It will hold film screenings, thematic dialogues, and a cooperation signing ceremony between the Silk Road International Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival.

According to reports, the "Golden Silk Road Award" categories at this year's festival cover three main tracks: feature films, documentaries, and animated films. Among them, the feature film category features eight major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Artistic Contribution, and Jury Special Grand Prize. Independent encouragement is given to the creation of both documentaries and animated films, fully respecting the creative rules of different genres and subjects. In addition, the executive committee has specially established the Lifetime Achievement Award for Film Art to pay tribute to veteran film artists who have worked tirelessly in the cinema industry and made outstanding contributions to the development of world film art.

The 13th Silk Road International Film Festival is co-hosted by China Media Group, the People's Government of Shaanxi Province, and the People's Government of Fujian Province.