11th Beijing Intl Film Festival kicks off with light and shadow show

The 11th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), directed by the State Film Administration and sponsored by the China Media Group (CMG) and the Beijing Municipal Government, opened at Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center on Tuesday.

Shen Haixiong, president and editor-in-chief of the CMG and president of the organizing committee of the 11th BJIFF, announced the opening of the film festival.

This year's BJIFF invites filmmakers from all over the world to join hands and make unremitting efforts to foster new opportunities and create a new bureau for the film industry. A total of 889 films from 77 countries and regions have entered for the Tiantan Award, the festival's main competition section. Fifteen global films, including "All About My Mother" from the Chinese mainland, "A Siege Diary" from Russia and "The Pact" from Denmark, have been nominated. For the first time, the "Beijing Screening" section of this year's film festival was expanded beyond Beijing to encompass the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The 31 cinemas show nearly 300 Chinese and foreign films, with more than 1000 performances, allowing the audience to enjoy the world of light and shadow.

The 11th BJIFF will also feature 17 film panorama themes, including a special exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, a special presentation of a film depicting the Winter Olympics and a retrospective exhibition of Gong Li, president of the jury.

In response to the impact of COVID-19, this year's film festival will continue to highlight online activities. The exhibition, film carnival, opening and closing ceremony and award ceremony have been comprehensively upgraded to provide guests, the media and fans with a more immersive participation experience through digital means, such as remote transaction, video conference, live interaction and online movie viewing.

The 11th BJIFF runs until September 29.