The Belt and Road Film Week | Donnie Yen, Jia Ling, Zhang Xiaofei serve as Promotion Ambassadors to Drive Film Exchanges along the Belt and Road Initiative Route

The Belt and Road Film Week of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) held under the theme of “Opening the Heart”, leads the audience embark on a film journey to experience the customs of countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route through 20 films, as well as the touch brought by intimacy between people. Three well-known filmmakers are invited to be the promotion ambassadors of this Belt and Road Film Week. They are the martial artist and actor Donnie Yen, director Jia Ling and actress Zhang Xiaofei.

The promotion ambassadors will use their influence to attract more audiences to pay attention to the latest film masterpieces from countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route and participate in the Belt and Road Film Week activities. They will share their creation experience and insights into films, and witness this grand event of film culture exchange and mutual learning with fans.

Promotion Ambassador of the Belt and Road Film Week Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen has been devoted to the film industry for nearly forty years and has explored martial arts all over the world, and he has founded the "Yen’s Class" to inherit Chinese martial arts. His work "YIP MAN" series has been widely praised at home and abroad. With his creation of martial arts scene featuring highly ornamental and personal style, Donnie Yen has achieved wide personal influence in the international film world. As a promotion ambassador this time, he will use his influence to attract more international attention for the Belt and Road Film Week. In addition, Donnie Yen will be a guest at the MasterClass on June 14 to share his journey as a filmmaker.

Promotion Ambassadors of the Belt and Road Film Week Jia Liang and Zhang Xiaofei

This year, the film “HI, MOM", written and directed and acted by Jia Ling, was released and hit a total box office in the Mainland of over RMB 5.4 billion. The film portrays the sincere emotions between mother and daughter in humor, and brings tears in laughter to film fans. Jia Ling also became the female director with highest box office across the world with this single work.

The young actress Zhang Xiaofei played Li Huanying in her prime in the film. She showed the love and attachment between mother and daughter for each other in a natural and delicate and emotional performance, which touched hundreds of millions of audiences.

The love and sincerity embodied in the film have aroused spiritual resonance among the audience, which also coincides with the theme of this year's Belt and Road Film Week, "Opening the Heart". When receiving the invitation to serve as promotion ambassadors for Film Week, Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei readily agreed and expressed their willingness to contribute to film cultural exchanges between countries.

This year, the Belt and Road Film Week will host the Yangtze River Delta screening for the first time. 6 selected films will be sent to cinemas in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hefei and other cities to share the light and shadow feast with the fans. The screening even has now started ticketing through Taopiaopiao. At the same time, the Belt and Road Film Tour will continue this year to recommend outstanding domestic films such as "HI, MOM" and "ANIMA" to more international film festivals that are insightful, introduce the latest and most representative Chinese films to the international stage, and brings new possibilities for cooperation for the international film industry.

In 2018, the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was established in Shanghai. After three years of development, it now has 53 institutional 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.