Silk Road film festival features cultural diversity

XI'AN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The third Silk Road International Film Festival opened here on Monday, attracting 676 films from 35 countries to compete for awards.

The five-day festival was given the theme "film in development, culture with diversity." It comprises film reviews, screenings, forums and cultural shows.

The films come from countries including China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Russia. They will vie for five awards: best feature, best documentary, best animation, best male actor and best female actor.

During the event, more than 300 films from countries and regions along the Belt and Road will be screened in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province.

Chinese director Huang Jianxin, who leads the festival jury, said he hoped the festival would boost the film industry in countries along the Belt and Road.

The festival invited Jackie Chan as ambassador and young actor Kris Wu as youth ambassador.

Founded in 2014, the Silk Road film festival is held in Xi'an and Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province in turn to promote film exchanges among countries along Belt and Road. The two cities are seen as starting places of the two routes.