SANYA /China/, December 18. /TASS/. The 4th Hainan International Film Festival (HIFF) began its work on Sunday in the Chinese resort city of Sanya (southern Hainan province). The film festival will run through December 25 and will end with the presentation of the main award - the Golden Coconut award, which will be given to the best works in various nominations of the competition program.

The official opening ceremony to be broadcast on China Central Television took place in Sanya on Saturday night. Speaking at the ceremony, Wang Bin, vice governor of Hainan province and head of the Publicity Department of CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, pointed out that Hainan counts on the benefits of the free trade port policy and actively seeks to create a favorable business environment to attract advanced technology and capital to the local film industry.

"I hope that members of the film industry at home and abroad will make full use of the Hainan International Film Festival as a platform to share new opportunities in the Chinese film market," Wang Bin said at the opening ceremony, which was scheduled to be broadcast on central television Sunday evening.

As a result of the lifting of many anti-COVID restrictions across China, the film festival has generated a lot of interest among audiences. Ticket sales for the screenings began as early as December 16, and in the first four hours, the box office was almost as high as that of the entire previous film festival.

According to the organizers' preliminary data, the out-of-competition program of the festival will feature over 100 different works. Among them are two Russian films: Boris Khlebnikov's Arrhythmia and Oleg Hamokov's Knots. The time of their screening has not yet been set.

Various sections of the out-of-competition program will present works to a wider audience from countries all over the world, in particular from the United States, Germany, Italy, Iceland, South Korea, Australia, France, Brazil, India, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and other countries and regions.

Nominations and Competition Program

This year the Film Festival main competition program includes 29 films: 11 feature films, 8 documentaries and 10 short films. The Golden Coconut award will be awarded in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, Special Jury Prize, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Technology, Best Documentary and Best Short Film.

The section of feature films vying for the festival's top prize is represented by such works as Aftersun (2022, UK/USA), As Bestas (2022, Spain), Georgia (2022, China), Goutte d'Or (2022, France), Saint Omer (2022, Senegal), The Cord Of Life (2022, China), The Innocent (2022, France), Trenque Lauquen (2022, Argentina), Vera (2022, Austria), What Remains (2022, UK/Hong Kong/Finland) and World War III (2022, Iran).

In the documentary competition, submissions from Italy, Great Britain, Brazil, France, Norway, as well as co-productions from several countries are in the running for the awards. Short films are presented, in particular, by pictures from Greece, the United States, China, Italy, Turkey, Serbia, and other countries.

Forums

An important part of the Festival, in addition to the competition program and screening of works from around the world, will be 11 specialized forums related to contemporary cinema. One event will focus on the sustainable development of the Hainan Free Trade Port film industry. Another key forum, the First China Film Investment Summit in Hainan, will discuss the financing of high-quality films.

Other forums will deal with digitalization, music and the image of China in film. The role of women in filmmaking and the dialogue between human beings and nature in contemporary films will be highlighted as separate topics.

Talent search and promotion of the film industry

The Hainan Film Festival has many sections, all of which promote both the local film industry and international cooperation. One of them is the H! Action, which is an incubator for promising film works and a platform for discovering talent in the industry.

For this year's festival more than 700 potential projects were selected through the platform, an increase of 25.1% compared to the previous edition of the festival. Of those, 617 were screenplays.

As indicated by the organizing committee of the film festival, the platform H! Action aims to support filmmakers, promote cooperation between the Chinese film industry and external markets, provide mediation services, financing and promotion of projects at various stages of implementation. This year, the platform, together with a Beijing-based partner, also established a special award to support talent and promising film works.

About the film festival

The 3rd Hainan International Film Festival was held December 5-12, 2020. The films there were not only presented in cinemas, but also streamed online. During the event, audiences viewed 189 films from 60 countries and regions around the world. HIFF is recognized as one of the top four film festivals in China and was held for the first time in December 2018. Actors and directors such as Jackie Chan, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Nuri Bilge Ceylan have participated. The 2021 event was scheduled for December 5-12, but did not take place due to anti-COVID restrictions.

The Hainan International Film Festival is the youngest in China, but has already managed to attract the attention of audiences and professionals alike. The film festival is supported by the State Film Administration with the joint participation of China Central Radio and Television and the Hainan Provincial People's Government.

The image ambassador of the fourth HIFF is Chinese actor Jackie Chan.