Chongqing to host SCO Film Festival in June

Organizers announced at a press conference in Beijing on April 23 that the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival will be held in Chongqing in June.

Representatives from Chinese film authorities and SCO countries launch the 2025 SCO Film Festival in Beijing, April 23, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

The film festival will take place from June 23-27 in the Yongchuan district of Chongqing, sponsored by the China Film Administration and Chongqing municipal government. This marks the SCO Film Festival's return after a seven-year hiatus since its inaugural edition in Qingdao, Shandong province, in 2018.

Coinciding with the 130th anniversary of world cinema and the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema, this cultural event aims to harness the universal language of film to promote SCO member countries' civilizational values of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness.

During the press conference held at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), Mao Yu, executive deputy director general of China Film Administration, proposed further opening China's film market by encouraging domestic distributors to acquire and screen outstanding films participating in the SCO Film Festival in theaters or on television.

He also announced plans for the SCO Young Filmmaking Talent Exchange Program, which will train aspiring young filmmakers across member states, and the upcoming establishment of an SCO Film Producers Association Alliance designed to deepen comprehensive cooperation and exchange while creating professional, efficient communication platforms for pragmatic collaboration among SCO nations.

Shri Janesh Kain, SCO deputy secretary general, expressed confidence that the festival held during China's presidency rotation will provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the "Shanghai Spirit," which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development. He added that the festival will serve as a vital platform for promoting cultural dialogue, enhancing mutual understanding and bringing people closer together.

The event will feature six main components: opening and closing ceremonies, film competition, film market, film cooperation forum and country-in-focus sections, along with five special programs including film technology exhibition, film-themed music festival, film panorama screenings, outdoor marketplaces and cultural exchange activities.

Sixty classic films from 12 SCO member countries will be screened across Chongqing's major cinemas, outdoor venues and the China Movie Channel, along with local premieres of select summer blockbusters.

This edition of the SCO Film Festival will present a total of 12 awards including best film, best director, best actor and best actress. The international jury will consist of film professionals from member and observer states, with each state sending one juror. Renowned Chinese producer, screenwriter and professor Ren Zhonglun will serve as jury president.

Guan Hong, executive deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and head of the Chongqing Film Bureau, explained that hosting the festival in Chongqing reflects the municipality's unique and pivotal position in China's regional development and opening up strategy, along with its longstanding, fruitful cooperation with SCO member states. He warmly welcomed global filmmakers and investors to explore new frontiers of cross-cultural exchange and film industry development in Chongqing.