Beijing International Film Festival Photo: Wu Jie/GT

A total of 1,826 full-length feature films from 139 countries and regions will compete for the Tiantan Awards, the official competition section of the 16th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF). Among them, 88 percent are international entries, setting a new historical high and highlighting the festival's growing global influence and appeal, BJIFF organizers announced at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

The first batch of 12 shortlisted films was announced, including four Chinese entries: All the Good Eyes, Being Toward Death, Crossing a Dawn and Embers.

The Hundred Flower Festival, the only film award in China determined by public voting, will return to Beijing later this year. With this, Beijing will become the only city in China to host two major film festivals within a single year, Huo Zhijing, director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration, said at the press conference. 

The 16th BJIFF is scheduled to be held from April 16 to 25, with the opening and closing ceremony as well as the red carpet held in the capital city's Huairou district. The annual festival will build a bridge for dialogue - between Chinese cinema and the world, showcase the diversity of global film cultures, facilitate efficient connection of industry resources and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, said the organizers. 

The international jury of this year's Tiantan Award is headed by renowned French actress Juliette Binoche, Chinese director Bi Gan, as well as Chinese actors Zhang Xiaofei and Zhang Yi, said Wang Lu, a vice secretary-general of BJIFF's organizing committee. 

Speaking of the highlights of this year's festival, Huo summed them up as three "upgrades": enhanced internationalization, greater professionalism, and broader public participation.

As an international platform for film exchange, BJIFF will host programmers from renowned overseas festivals, including the Locarno Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Warsaw International Film Festival. A "China-foreign film copyright promotion conference" will also be established to deepen international collaboration in the film industry, Huo told the Global Times.

In addition, an initiative for the overseas distribution of Chinese-language films will be launched for the first time. It will recommend 65 feature films with strong international market potential to global distributors, helping build a bridge for Chinese cinema to reach wider audiences abroad, Huo noted. 

As BJIFF is the first international film festival in China to kick off in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), three core forums have been planned, focusing on film creation, the film industry, and technological innovation, with the aim of fostering in-depth discussions and the exchange of ideas. In particular, special emphasis will be placed on how films can better respond to audience's expectations and improve the quality of filmmaking.

The festival will also highlight the integration of film and technology as a key section. The AIGC Film Unit will be held for the third time, with renowned sci-fi writer Liu Cixin among the invited guests. 

For the first time, the festival will organize a dedicated VR film competition unit and a non-competitive screening section. The competition unit will provide a platform for officially licensed VR film creators to showcase their immersive cinematic works that combine storytelling with VR technology, He Yuxin, an organizer of the competition, told the Global Times.

Upholding the idea of public participation and shared enjoyment, the Beijing Film and Life Festival will be held to give more movie lovers and residents the opportunity to take part in this cinematic celebration.

This year, a total of 260 high-quality films from around the world will be screened across 28 cinemas in the capital, with over 70 percent of the international titles making their China premieres, Huo said. 

Together, BJIFF and the Hundred Flower Festival create a year-round cinematic rhythm in the city, allowing residents and visitors to continuously experience the magic of film and celebrate the artistry of both domestic and international cinema, according to the organizers.