Shanghai Int'l Film Festival launches Belt and Road Film Week to fosters cinematic cultural exchanges

The 27th Shanghai International Film Festival's Belt and Road Film Week is showcasing 15 carefully curated films from partner nations, promoting cultural exchanges with films as a link, festival organizers said.

With the theme of "Travel with Films," this year's event, which kicked off on Wednesday, features parallel screenings in five Yangtze River Delta cities - Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Hefei.

Chen Guo, managing director of the Shanghai International Film and TV Events Center, highlighted the initiative's global reach.

"Through our Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance network, we've successfully introduced 58 Chinese productions to international audiences, significantly expanding overseas exposure for China's film industry," she said.

Marco Muller, Italian artistic director of Shanghai University's Film Art Research Center, underlined the growing international demand for Chinese films.

"At the very least, there are over 300 film festivals across Belt and Road (co-building) countries. I often receive emails or messages from them expressing strong interest in screening more Chinese films and eagerly hoping for Chinese productions to participate in their local festivals," Muller said.

Wang Hanjing of the Shanghai Animation Industry Association stressed the cultural dimension, saying "We can bring more Chinese cultural contents to the international stage, allowing judges and audiences on these global platforms to pay greater attention to our content."

This year's edition brings together more than 40 prominent filmmakers from over 20 countries. Through structured work meetings and roundtable discussions, participants explore critical industry themes including collaborative film production opportunities, strategies for international distribution and promotion and development programs for emerging cinematic talent.

Since its inception in 2018, the Belt and Road Film Week has evolved into a cornerstone of international film cooperation, fostering cultural dialogue between China and participating nations while offering global audiences a window into diverse cinematic traditions.

The Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance has seen remarkable growth, expanding from its original 31 institutions across 29 countries to 55 member organizations spanning 48 nations today. This expanding network continues to facilitate meaningful artistic exchanges and co-production opportunities along the Belt and Road.

Shanghai Int'l Film Festival launches Belt and Road Film Week to fosters cinematic cultural exchanges

Shanghai Int'l Film Festival launches Belt and Road Film Week to fosters cinematic cultural exchanges

Russia reported on Tuesday that its forces hit several Ukrainian military targets, took control of a settlement in the Kharkov region in the past 24 hours, while Ukraine on the same day claimed to have downed over 1,000 Russian drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report that over the past day, Russian forces had launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian military industrial enterprises producing various types of missiles and components, as well as military airfields, using long-range air-based and land-based high-precision weapons and drones. All designated facilities were hit. Moreover, the Russian air defense systems shot down 10 guided-missile bombs and 259 fixed-wing drones.

On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian forces engaged in a total of 168 battles with Russia in the past day, with Ukrainian forces striking Russian personnel and equipment concentration areas, drone control points, and command and observation posts, shooting down 1,023 drones.

In addition, the Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence reported on Tuesday that its unmanned systems forces destroyed a Russian Zircon hypersonic missile launcher and two missiles of the same type in Crimea that day.

The Ukrainian air force reported on Tuesday that the Russian army launched one of the largest drone attacks since the start of the conflict. On that day alone, the Russian army deployed over 550 drones to carry out the attack. Furthermore, from 18:00 on Monday, to 18:00 on Tuesday, the Russian army had already used nearly 1,000 drones of various models to strike Ukrainian targets.

Russia claims hitting military targets, Ukraine reports downing Russian drones