Curtain opens on the 3rd Hainan Island International Film Festival
By Zhang Heng
People's Daily app
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The 3rd Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) kicks off on Saturday in the island’s coastal city of Sanya, drawing a number of world-famous directors, actors and actresses.

Photo: hiiff.com.cn

Co-hosted by China Media Group (CMG) and the People’s Government of Hainan Province, this year’s festival, lasting for eight days through December 5 to 12, will screen 189 excellent films from over 60 countries and regions, among which 97 will make their debut in China, the highest record in the festival’s history.

World-renowned actress Zhang Ziyi will be the ambassador of this year’s film gala and pop-singer Coco Lee, the music ambassador, will perform at the opening ceremony on Sunday.

Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai and Pema Tseden, Iranian director Majid Majidi, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher and Chinese actress Hao Lei will each hold a masterclass to share their experience in the film industry with young directors and audiences.

The festival also includes eight screening sections (Out-of-Competition) with different focuses. The section of “Cinema regained” will screen three films by the late Polish master Andrzej Zulawski in memory of his 80th birth anniversary and other newly restored films from the 60s, 80s, and millennium, including “The Others”, casted by Nicole Kidman.

“Asian spectrum”, “Spotlight” and “World Cinema” give their attention to masterpieces in Asia, Africa, and the world’s emerging talents, respectively.

A series of events and forums will take place during the festival to create platforms for filmmakers and companies to exchange views and share ideas.

In addition, H!Future, H!Action, H!Market are designed to develop a cooperative platform that can concentrate a wide range of resources, making the festival cover the whole chain of the film industry.