Jackie Chan, ambassador of the first SCO Film Festival, attends the opening ceremony in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, June 13, 2018. (Photo: VCG)

The first SCO Film Festival is taking place in Qingdao, with the opening ceremony held on Wednesday evening, bringing together movie stars and famous directors from the bloc's member states to the largest filmmaking base in China, the Qingdao Movie Metropolis.

The event is initiated by China, the host country for this year’s SCO Summit. Big name film stars and directors from 12 countries are present at the event, promoting high-quality films from their own markets.

As the first ambassador for the SCO Film Festival, Jackie Chan, who has wowed audiences the world over with his martial arts movies, attended the opening ceremony and sent his wishes to the event.

Chan noted that “China’s film industry has gone through a lot of difficulties, it is now entering a new era,” adding, “I hope we can cherish this opportunity made possible by this Film Festival which allows us to share ideas of peace and caring through cultural exchanges, this is our goal. I hope I can live up to expectations as the ambassador of this film festival.” 

China has the world's second-largest film market. The box office surged from one billion yuan in 2002 to 56 billion yuan in 2017, and the number of visits to cinemas in China has jumped from 70 million times in 2012 to more than 1.6 billion times. 

During the five-day event, delegations will bring in 23 films for a competition and 55 films for public consumption. The aim is to promote cultural exchanges and set up a platform for film industry cooperation.