Chinese actor Zhu Yilong wins Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2nd Golden Panda Awards held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on September 13. Photo: Ji Yuqiao/GT

"The Golden Panda Awards set no boundaries, favor no genres, and let the power of the works speak for themselves," said Chinese director Chen Kaige, also president of the jury for the 2nd Golden Panda Awards, as he opened the award ceremony on Saturday evening. Following his remarks, winners of 27 awards for films, TV dramas, documentaries, and animated works from around the globe were announced one by one. Among them, Italian film There's Still Tomorrow won the Best Picture Award, while Chinese TV series She and Her Girls took home the Best TV Drama Award.

In the Film Category, Chinese actor Zhu Yilong won Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Denise Weinberg became Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2nd Golden Panda Awards. The Best Director Award went to Chinese director Pema Tseden, who passed away in 2023.

In the TV Drama Category, the Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Leading Role awards went to Tang Yan and Francis Ng for their performances in the highly rated Chinese TV dramas Blossoms Shanghai and Escape From the Trilateral Slopes, while the Best Director Award was presented to James Strong, a British director of Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian documentary A New Kind of Wilderness won the Best Documentary Award, and Nezha 2 received the Best Animation Award.

There were several singing and dancing performances during the awards ceremony. Cambodian Princess Jenna Norodom performed the song Moonlight.

Italian director Marco Dentici, one of the jurors for the Picture Category, told the Global Times on Saturday that four Chinese films had left a deep impression on him during the judging process, each embodying the Golden Panda Awards' spirit of cultural exchange that transcends boundaries.

Dentici said he had witnessed a growing desire for cultural exchange between China and Italy. As for the fields of film and television production, he believes there is even broader potential for cooperation in the future - collaboration that goes beyond technology, extending to people-to-people connections.

Joel Hynek, a renowned visual effects artist from the US and jury member of the TV Drama Category - best known for works such as The Matrix - shared that Chinese TV dramas like Blossoms Shanghai and She and Her Girls made a significant impression on him during the judging. He noted that these works gave him new insight into Chinese culture, and he was struck by the highly professional level of visual effects production in China.

Hynek believed the Golden Panda Awards not only provide a platform for creators from around the world to exchange ideas and showcase their work, but also promote cultural exchange and integration among different countries and regions. Through mutual learning and inspiration, creators can jointly advance the development of the film and television industry, he said.