International film festival opens in China's Hainan

SANYA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The fourth Hainan Island International Film Festival opened Sunday in Sanya, a resort city in south China's Hainan Province.

This year's film festival features 3,761 films from 116 countries and regions for the Golden Coconut Awards, with over 80 percent of the films from overseas, said the organizing committee.

Eighty to 100 films are expected to be screened during the festival scheduled from Dec. 18 to Dec. 25, and nine forums will also take place.

Zhang Jun, secretary-general of the event organizing committee, said the festival is committed to strengthening international film cultural exchanges and cooperation, promoting the development of the film industry, and fostering the prosperity of film creation.

A total of 11 feature films, eight documentaries, and ten short films were nominated to compete for the various categories under Golden Coconut Awards this year, Zhang added.

First held in 2018, the film festival is jointly hosted by the China Media Group and the Hainan provincial government. This year's festival will end on Dec. 25.