Belt and Road Film Week｜The Opening Film "ANIMA" Debuts!

This afternoon, the Belt and Road Film Week of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) officially kicked off. The movie "ANIMA" produced by Zhejiang Province was screened at Cinema Palace, Lujiazui as the opening film. Director and screenwriter Cao Jinling, actor Wang Chuanjun, and producer Cao Dayong came to the screening site to share the behind-the-scenes stories of the film creation with the audience. Relevant leaders from the Publicity Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and Party Committee of the Communist Party of China of the Pudong New Area attended the event.

This year, the Belt and Road Film Week will take "Opening the Heart" as the theme of the screening, and a total of 20 film works recommended by member institutions of the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance are selected for screening. These films focused on the life inner thoughts, emotional waves, and destiny choices of the people of the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route. The Belt and Road film week also set up the Yangtze River Delta Screening for the first time, showing 6 selected films of the Film Week in five cities including Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Hefei, etc., sharing the latest achievements in the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route with fans and friends in the Yangtze River Delta.

The opening film "ANIMA" tells the touching story of an Ewenki lumberjack in the 1990s to protect the last virgin forest in the cold temperate zone of our country. By showing the life situation of the virgin forests of Inner Mongolia, the film conveys the concept and pursuit of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and appeals to everyone to understand and pay more attention to nature protection.

As early as 2018, "ANIMA" was selected into SIFF PROJECT. Last year, under the recommendation of SIFF, "ANIMA" was shortlisted for the main competition of the 42nd Cairo International Film Festival through the Belt and Road Film Tour mechanism.

When talking about the original intention of creation, director Cao Jinling said that this is a film that pays tribute to the "initial aspiration", "I hope to sort out the relationship between human and nature, and make our environment better." The starring Wang Chuanjun is from Shanghai. He said that it is a very happy thing to be able to take the opportunity of SIFF to return to Shanghai and share his favorite movies with the audience. Producer Cao Dayong said that the two-year shooting was not only difficult, but also full of good memories, "All our persistence is to bring you this meaningful work."

In 2018, the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was established in Shanghai. After three years of development, it now has 53 members in 45 countries. The One Belt One Road Film Week, founded in the same year, and supported by the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance, serves to hold a series of events such as screenings, forums, industry dialogues, and market promotion. The Belt and Road Film Tour continuously recommends outstanding Chinese films and outstanding filmmakers to participate in the film festivals of countries along the Belt and Road route, forming a co-working mechanism for annual screenings and global screenings, promoting the exchange and mutual learning of filmmakers and film cultures among countries. With the growth of the Film Festival Alliance, and the development of filmmakers exchanges, the film culture is gradually taking root in the hearts of the people.