Han Yu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, gives a speech at the event. [Photo/ people.cn]

More than 16.3 billion yuan ($2.51 billion) contracts on 49 key projects in the film industry were signed by 65 companies at the 16th Beijing International Film Festival, creating a new record.

A signing ceremony was held on April 22 in Beijing International Hotel after a three-day "Film Market and Trade" section at the festival, which witnessed more than 30,000 visitors and 1,500 professionals, exhibitors and traders from both China and overseas.

Compared with previous years, the 16th Beijing International Film Festival stresses more on the innovation and new trend of the industry, with "new ideas, new technologies, new method" being the center of discussion.

Meanwhile, the event strengthened its role as incubator in cultivating young talents in the film industry, with submitted venture capital projects numbering 674, an increase of 48 percent than last year.

"The section of film market has given a stronger support to those investment projects, compared with last year," said Han Yu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, "and the industry discussions and events held this year cover a more diverse theme, including new technologies such as VR."

The signed contracts in the Film Market section at the festival total 16.331 billion yuan ($2.519 billion), a growth of 17.96 percent compared with last year. The projects signed cover a wide range of fields, including crowd funding, investment, funding movie and TV products, industry infrastructure and production cooperation, etc., highlighting an extended film industry chain.