Belt and Road Film Week | Da Peng and Yao Chen Appointed as Ambassadors

The Belt and Road Film Week at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), themed “Path of Courage”, will take audiences on a journey through the landscapes and cultures of countries along the Belt and Road route through 18 films, which showcase varied ways of life and the internal power that drive one to grow.

Director and actor Da Peng (Dong Chengpeng), along with actress and producer Yao Chen, have been appointed as ambassadors for this year’s Belt and Road Film Week. They will actively participate in the events and promote the latest excellent films from countries along the Belt and Road route with their industry influence, to witness together with film fans from all over the world this cinematic cultural exchange event.

This year, Da Peng (Dong Chengpeng), who won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actor at the 25th SIFF, has become the ambassador of the Belt and Road Film Week, to promote the film and the event as well as to facilitate in-depth exchanges of film culture.

Throughout his over a decade-long career in the film industry, Da Peng has maintained his commitment to diverse roles in film creation. He has appeared in several impressive films such as THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER, MY DEAR LIAR, HIDDEN BLADE, and JOHNNY KEEP WALKING! He has also directed hit films like JIAN BING MAN, CITY OF ROCK, THE REUNIONS, POST TRUTH and ONE AND ONLY.

In 2017, Da Peng was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 11th Asian Film Awards for his role in I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY. In 2018, he won the Students’ Choice Award for Favorite Actor at the 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival for his role in CITY OF ROCK. In 2020, he was nominated for the Golden Goblet Awards at the 23rd SIFF for THE REUNIONS. In 2023, he won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actor at the 25th SIFF for DUST TO DUST and was nominated for Best Actor at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2024 with this work.

In recent years, Da Peng, as an actor, screenwriter, producer, and director, has been actively involved in numerous international film and cultural exchange activities. In 2023, he served as a jury member for the feature film category at the 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival. In 2024, he was invited to be the final jury member for the Project Pitches unit of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival, as well as a jury member for the Asian New Talent section of the 26th SIFF Golden Goblet Awards. In April of this year, his film ONE AND ONLY was screened during the BRICS Film Festival, and in May, Da Peng and the creative team of SHE HAS NO NAME walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the global premiere of the film.

Over the past twenty years, Yao Chen has portrayed brave and daring female characters in many Chinese films. She has starred in popular dramas such as MY OWN SWORDSMAN, LURK, and ALL IS WELL, as well as critically acclaimed films like CAUGHT IN THE WEB, LOST, FOUND, and SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS. While constantly breaking through in her acting career, she has also served as a film producer, collaborating with young directors on productions such as SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS, FLAMING CLOUD, and THE CORD OF LIFE.

Yao Chen has won multiple professional awards both domestically and internationally, including the Best Actress of Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards (ACA & G.OTT) at the 24th Busan International Film Festival Asian Contents Awards, the the “Actress of the Year” at the inaugural Hainan Island International Film Festival, the “Golden Mulberry Award for Outstanding Achievement” at the Italian Far East Film Festival, and and the Cinema Icon Award at the 30th Singapore International Film Festival. She has also served as an image ambassador for the China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival and the ONE International Women’s Film Festival, as well as the jury member for various film and television festivals such as the Taipei Film Festival, First International Film Festival, Golden Rooster Films Project Market, Project Pitches of Beijing International Film Festival, and SIFF Project. Last year, she was invited as a promoter to participate in the Women’s Forum of the China’s New Talents Going Global Program at Cannes Film Festival, where she joined outstanding female filmmakers from China and abroad to discuss the theme: How female filmmakers find opportunities for themselves.

Active both on stage and behind the scenes, Yao Chen, along with producer Cao Yu and director Qiao Sixue, produced the film THE CORD OF LIFE, which was nominated for the Asian Film Competition section at the 22nd Dhaka International Film Festival and won the Best Film and Best Actress awards, telling an oriental story and sharing bravery and warmth in life on the international stage. As an ambassador for the Belt and Road Film Week, Yao Chen will help attract broader international attention to this “bridge of light and shadow” connecting China and the rest of the world with her professional experience and industry influence, and share her journey in the film industry with practitioners.

Both Da Peng and Yao Chen embody the spirit of courage and perseverance in their endeavors in front of and behind the camera, which aligns perfectly with the theme of “Path of Courage” at this year’s Belt and Road Film Week. Through active participation and promotion, they will facilitate cultural exchanges in film among multiple countries and explore the charm of cinema with film enthusiasts worldwide.

The screenings for the 26th SIFF’s Belt and Road Film Week in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Hefei are now available to movie enthusiasts in these cities on the designated ticketing platform Taopiaopiao. The Belt and Road Film Week has also prepared limited edition cultural and creative peripherals such as movie ticket stubs and exquisite cup sleeves as gifts for fans, which can be obtained at designated cinemas.

The Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was initiated by the Organizing Committee of SIFF and was established in 2018, currently consisting of 55 member institutions from 48 countries. Against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative, the alliance aims to enhance the capabilities of film curation, promote mutual understanding among filmmakers, facilitate film cooperation projects, strengthen exchanges in film culture among countries, establish a close information-sharing mechanism, and explore future development models for film festivals. Civilization thrives through exchange and mutual learning. Since its establishment, SIFF, together with the Publicity Department of the CPC Pudong New Area Committee (District Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau), and the Administrative Committee of Shanghai International Resort, has cooperated to organize the Belt and Road Film Week, and created a mechanism with the Belt and Road Film Tour, effectively promoting two-way exchanges and mutual learning between filmmakers and film cultures along the Belt and Road route, and further enhancing cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonds among countries along the route.