ALLIANCE OVERVIEW

Introduction to the Alliance

Founded on June 16, 2018, the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance is initiated by the Organizing Committee of Shanghai International Film Festival. Under the background of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Alliance makes mutual recommendation of films and exchanges among filmmakers as its core, aiming to jointly enhance film curatorial capability, promote mutual understanding among filmmakers, push forward film collaborative programs and strengthen film cultural exchanges among countries, so as to establish a close information sharing mechanism and explore the development mode for film festivals in the future. The first members of the Alliance included 31 institutes from 29 countries. As of May 2022, the Alliance consists of 55 members from 48 countries.

Founding Background

The “Silk Road” film exhibition unit was established at 2015 Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2016, “the Belt and Road” was set to be a permanent unit of the international exhibition module.Relative cooperation mechanisms and MOUs were signed with many countries for two consecutive years. In 2018, the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was founded and “the Belt and Road” Film Week was set up to explore diverse ways of cooperation with an open and inclusive mind, foster mutual exchanges with film practitioners in countries along “the Belt and Road”, and promote film cooperation to greater depths, which has received a positive response from film institutions along “the Belt and Road” and more global film counterparts. Taking film as the medium, everyone learns and draws inspiration from each other through active participation, which reflects a good wish of filmmakers from various countries for strengthened film cooperations and deepened cultural and educational exchanges.

Admittance Criteria

An important film festival or film institution of local country, with a certain influence in the surrounding area;

Strong curatorial and industrial resources to help other alliance members understand the country’s films, invite films and filmmakers;

Actively organize cross-regional and cross-cultural film exchange activities;

Applicants introduced and recommended by the Alliance members are preferred;

Scope of Work

Taking film as the carrier, to enhance the dissemination and exchange of culture and art among countries;

Taking film as the carrier, to enhance the understanding and dissemination of culture and customs among countries;

To facilitate exhibitions and other activities of films from various countries at film festivals or film institutions in other countries; 

To promote mutual recommendation of film festival judges, guests and guests of exhibition activities among countries; 

To strengthen exchanges and cooperation in film production, co-production and distribution among countries;

To establish and push forward film information sharing mechanism among signatories