Film festival integrates AI with storytelling still at heart

AI short films and creative works also stood out. Fuxi and Nyuwa: The Light of Creation won the Best AIGC Short Film award, while Spy War in Harbin was honored as the Best AI Creative Short Film, highlighting young creators' pioneering exploration at the intersection of technology and art, Shan said.

According to Shan, the original purpose of establishing the festival was to promote cultural exchange between China and the world, help connect Chinese-language cinema with the global film industry, and support the international expansion of China's cultural industries.

He said the festival will explore a new pattern — co-hosting in Hong Kong and one foreign city to strengthen the cultural bond and shared identity among Chinese communities worldwide.

"Each edition has introduced new features: The fourth edition debuted a short-form drama evaluation section, and the fifth edition focused on AI," Shan said.

The festival's traditional film section also drew attention, with several established performers and popular productions receiving awards.

A-list actor Huang Xiaoming won Best Actor for Mostly Sunny, in which he plays a cheerful man with an intellectual disability who tries to save his seriously ill mother.

Yu Wenwen shared the Best Actress award for her portrayal of the captain of a female special forces team in Operation Black-Ops with Jiang Yiyan for her role as a mother who sells her house to support her son's studies.

Dear You, one of this year's highest-grossing films, took home four awards, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Newcomer Actor, and Best Newcomer Actress.

Looking ahead, Shan said he hopes the festival will continue to serve as a bridge between Chinese-language cinema and the international film community. "I hope this festival will promote exchanges across the audiovisual cultural industry and provide a platform with an international perspective for Chinese-language films to reach global audiences," he said.