Silk Road Film Festival begins in Xi’an

The 1st Silk Road International Film Festival kicked off in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, on Monday. Running through to Saturday, the festival involves five events: film panoramas, an award ceremony, the Silk Road cultural forum, a film market and film-themed concerts.

To stand out from other international film festivals in China, the red carpet and opening show choose to replicate the traditional art styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and many of the performers could be seen dressed in traditional Han ethnic clothing and interacting with guests in accordance to traditional Chinese etiquette.

Since the "Silk Road" the festival has taken as its theme actually includes both the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which started from Fujian Province, organizers have said that they plan to hold next year's event in Fuzhou, Fujian Province.

A section showing films featuring panoramic vistas of countries along the ancient Silk Road is one of the highlights of the film festival.

"There are more than 40 countries along the Silk Road. Among these countries, Russia and India have had a very strong influence, and they have their own unique movie culture. It is very appropriate that we show panoramas of these countries during our festival," said Yan Chaoying, an official with the Shaanxi Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

The competition section of the festival has gathered nearly 200 movies from around the world. Among the 41 movies on the final list, over three-fourths are from foreign countries.

Award results will be announced during the closing ceremony on Saturday.