Organizers of the 16th Beijing International Film Festival announce details of the event at a press conference in Beijing, March 26, 2026. [Photo courtesy of the BJIFF Organizing Committee] 

　　The 16th BJIFF is scheduled to be held from April 16-25, with the opening and closing ceremonies, red carpet and various events held in the city's Huairou district. This year's theme is "Tiantan Glows, Hundred Flowers Bloom, Beijing Shines."

　　"The Beijing International Film Festival will earnestly shoulder new cultural missions, continue to tell the stories of China and Beijing well, build a broader stage for cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and contribute greater strength of the capital to write a new chapter in the development of Chinese cinema," Zhang Jinlin, president of Beijing Radio & Television Station and vice chairman and secretary-general of the BJIFF Organizing Committee, said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

　　This year's BJIFF is being held under the guidance of the China Film Administration, and organized by China Media Group and the Beijing Municipal People's Government.

　　The touring Hundred Flowers Awards, the only film awards in China determined by public vote, will return to Beijing later this year. With this, Beijing will become the only city in China to host two major film events within a single year, noted Huo Zhijing, director of the Beijing Municipal Film Administration.

　　"We will co-organize the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards and series of festival events in the second half of this year," Huo revealed. "As a result, Beijing will become a city where the film festival never ends this year. These two major film events will also be interwoven and echo each other, allowing everyone to continuously experience the charm of cinema in the city and to see more of the city's landscapes, vitality and character through film."

　　For the BJIFF's Tiantan Awards, a total of 1,826 feature films from 139 countries and regions will compete. Among them, a record 1,607 films — 88% of total submissions — are international entries, highlighting the festival's growing global influence and appeal.

　　The international jury of this year's Tiantan Awards is headed by renowned French actress Juliette Binoche, along with Chinese director Bi Gan and Chinese actors Zhang Xiaofei and Zhang Yi, according to Wang Lu, a vice secretary-general of BJIFF's organizing committee.

　　Currently, the Tiantan Awards has announced its first batch of selected films, a total of 12 films, including four domestic films and eight international films. The Chinese films are Chen Sicheng's "Being Toward Death," Zhao Badou's "Crossing a Dawn," Zheng Zhi's "All the Good Eyes" and Sun Aoqian's "Embers," while the shortlisted international films include Valerie Donzelli's "At Work" from France, Leon Le's "Ky Nam Inn" from Vietnam, and Isabel Coixet's Italy-Spain co-production "Three Goodbyes."

　　The Tiantan Awards jury will select 10 awards from the shortlisted films, including best picture. The results will be announced at the closing ceremony and awards presentation on April 25.

　　The BJIFF organizers promised to create a more open, inclusive and international event. The BJIFF will host curators and selectors from overseas festivals, and a China-foreign film copyright promotion conference will be established to deepen international collaboration. For the first time, it will launch a campaign to promote 65 Chinese-language feature films with overseas potential to global distributors and selectors, aiming to showcase the unique charm of Chinese cinema and build an efficient platform for Chinese films to go global.

　　Huo noted that as the first international film festival in China at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the event will establish a strong platform to bring together professionals, experts, scholars and audiences to discuss the future of cinema, pooling insights and consensus for building China into a film powerhouse. Three core forums will focus on film creation, the film industry and technological innovation, with particular attention on how films can meet audience expectations, improve creative quality, expand toward ecosystem building, strengthen the film economy, and better leverage the empowering role in socioeconomic development.

　　The festival will also highlight the integration of film and technology. The AIGC Film Section will be held for the third time, with renowned sci-fi writer Liu Cixin serving as honorary jury president and Wang Jinkang as honorary advisor. The final jury will be chaired by director Stanley Tong. As the world's first festival section dedicated to the co-creation of AI and film, the AIGC part, since launching in 2024, has evolved from an exploratory initiative into a globally recognized platform for AI film creation.

　　The BJIFF will also feature a wide array of events and activities, including a film market, forums, masterclasses, movie fan carnival, special animation section, as well as events and awards for new talent and university students. Meanwhile, a "Film+" campaign will be held to connect arts and life, including events themed on technology, sports, games, comics, theater, concerts and fashion.

　　Film screenings are a key part of the festival, with classic movies and new films alike that have rarely or never been released in China being shown. This year, a total of 260 classics and new films from around the world will be screened.