The second Golden Panda Awards officially opened on Friday in Chengdu, celebrating global cinematic talent and cultural exchange.
With 27 awards across five categories—film, TV drama, documentary, animation, and a special jury prize—this year's competition received over 5,000 submissions from 126 countries and regions, more than 70 percent of which came from abroad.
Nearly half of the 27 jurors are international. The four main award categories are chaired by Chinese director Huang Jianxin, German documentary producer Patrick Horl, British TV producer Mal Young, and Chinese animation director Cai Zhijun.
Featuring a strong global perspective, the event also invited the President of the Cairo Film Festival, Hussein Fahmy, who called for deeper film and television cooperation with China during the opening ceremony.
"The motion pictures, this fascinating world that we've all been working in for many years, enjoying other cultures, amused by the films and the motion picture industry as itself. It is a great privilege for me to be one of the first who had signed a protocol with the China Shanghai Film Festival many years ago. We're still collaborating with the Shanghai Film Festival. We are exchanging talents, exchanging knowledge every year. As well as the Beijing Film Festival, for which I've signed the contract and the protocol many years ago. And I'm very happy to be in this setting, and I'm looking forward to another engagement and another protocol with this magnificent outfit," he said.
Fahmy noted that beyond his personal connection to China, cooperation between the Chinese and Egyptian film industries has continued to deepen.
"It's very nice to be here and I'm really enjoying myself being among this fascinating culture. Coming from my own culture in Egypt, it's a really amazing thing. At the Cairo Film Festival this year, we have a Chinese movie in the competition. We have as well a member of the jury from the Chinese cinema. So it's a great collaboration. I'm very happy with it. I'm very happy to be among you all," he said.
The festival, running from Friday to Saturday, features three main events: an international cultural forum, parallel sessions, and the awards gala. In addition to the awards, highlights include a "Face to Face with Pandas" exhibition and a global short video contest that attracted over 65,000 entries.
Films will also be brought to more than 20,000 communities across Sichuan, aiming to inspire audiences through the power of cinema.
Golden Panda Awards kicks off in Chengdu
