This year's Golden Rooster program announced

The 2023 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival is scheduled to take place between Nov 1 and 4 in Xiamen, Fujian province, according to a news conference held on Monday in Beijing.

Highlights include the opening ceremony and a concert of film scores, the 36th China Golden Rooster Awards nomination ceremony, a red carpet event, and the closing and awards ceremonies.

Between Oct 27 and Nov 12, around 100 films will be screened, and the program will also include domestic film premieres, post-screening panel discussions, film appreciation lectures and a showcase event.

The screenings are divided into international and domestic films. In the international section, films from 30 countries and regions, including Russia, France and Brazil, have been invited to the festival.

Directors of major international film festivals, as well as film industry experts from countries such as the United States, Poland and New Zealand have also been invited to boost global film exchange.

Forums and symposia will allow experts, scholars and filmmakers to discuss the development of Chinese film from the perspectives of film studies, the film industry, actors and films of traditional Chinese opera.

A new marketing unit has been added to boost the development of the film industry, which will include promotional events for regions including Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as new film launches by production companies based on the Chinese mainland.

An investment conference, a short film season for young people, and outdoor screenings and exhibitions will also be part of the festival.

According to Yan Shaofei, secretary-general of the China Film Association, the main goals this year are to promote the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture through the medium of film, support the development of Chinese film, focus on the nurturing of young filmmakers, and strengthen the ties between the art of cinema and the general public.

The 36th China Golden Rooster Awards will give out 20 awards. Since opening for entries on June 28, the committee has received 179 submissions.

A panel of 19 experts, scholars and filmmakers took more than a month to watch 138 submissions, review, discuss and participate in real-name voting. Thirty-four films have been shortlisted, among them 16 feature films, 12 medium and small-budget feature films, and six children's films.

Another three panels, each composed of five judges, reviewed submissions for the documentary and educational, traditional Chinese opera, and art film categories.

The poster for this year's awards was unveiled at the conference. The design makes use of the time-honored tradition of paper-cutting, and was introduced by Zheng Minghua, head of the poster design team and deputy head of the Fujian Graphic Design Association.

With a crowing rooster at its center, the poster is framed by patterns associated with Xiamen and its culture, including representative flora and fauna — bougainvillea, the egret, and the phoenix tree — and landmarks like Sunlight Rock and Bagua Mansion on Gulangyu island.

"Paper-cutting dates back more than 2,000 years and is deeply rooted in the lives of Chinese people. Just like the art of filmmaking, it draws inspiration from, and transcends, everyday life, conveying Chinese sentiments and aesthetics," Zheng says.

Since ancient times, the technique has been used to adorn lanterns and make shadow puppet figures, and some of the country's earliest animated films incorporate elements of shadow puppetry.

"With paper-cutting, we would like to pay tribute to one of China's highest cinematic honors, while using the global influence of the awards to promote national cultural treasures and enhance our cultural confidence," Zheng says.