Photo: Courtesy of the Golden Panda Awards

 
"Let's Watch A Film Together," an important event of the First Golden Panda Awards, started in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday with the opening film I Love Dunhuang.

Written and directed by Miao Yue, starring Chen Jin, Lin Yongjian, Huang Pinyuan, and Zhang Zhengyong, the film I Love Dunhuang traces back to the Dunhuang art and culture of several generations of Dunhuang guardians since the establishment of the Dunhuang Academy in Dunhuang, Northwest Gansu Province. Dunhuang is known to the world for the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The guardians' story of protection, research, and inheritance on the caves has touched many audiences.

"Bringing the film to the event as well as the Dunhuang culture and story of Fan Jinshi [known for her devotion to the protection of Dunhuang and being called the Daughter of Dunhuang] to the Sichuan audiences has special cultural exchange significance," said director Miao Yue on Tuesday.

Hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, the Golden Panda Awards will be held every two years and permanently based in Sichuan. The first event will be held in Chengdu from September 19 to 20.

The Golden Panda Awards is an international communication award that demonstrates the concept of a community with a shared future, rather than a professional film and television award.

The First Golden Panda Awards has four categories: film, TV series, documentary, and animation with three main activities: Night of Golden Panda, Golden Panda International Cultural Forum, and Golden Panda Gala, as well as three supporting events: visiting events, public film screening, and new exhibitions.

The screening event, which runs until September 21, includes 36 films covering not only Chinese works like The Wandering Earth, but also international ones like The Father and The Son. The cast meetings will also be held after the screening for the audiences who hope to have an in-depth exchange with the cast.