The Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) was founded by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in 2014 to comprehensively implement China’s national strategy of The Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation among countries along The Belt and Road routes and to further develop the Chinese audiovisual industry.

SRIFF is held annually (alternating every year between the cities of Xi’an and Fuzhou) and is co-sponsored by the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government and Fujian Provincial People’s Government.

SRIFF is divided into the following sections and a mutable number of special presentations: Competition, Film Panorama, Film Forum, Film Market, Interactive Activities.

The previous editions of the festival have been hugely successful and have led to SRIFF becoming a point of reference in the Asian film festivals circuit. A total of 987 films from more than 60 countries were screened in cinemas, with a total of 4100 screenings reaching more than 830000 audience. Nearly 6000 filmmakers from more than 55 countries have taken part to the festival, including Sophie Marceau, Asghar Farhadi, Luc Besson, Renny Harlin, Jackie Chan, Amos Gitai and Jiang Wen. More than 3,400 reporters from nearly 600 media outlets from China and abroad took part in the publicity and reporting of the festival, including China Central Television, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, BBC, and other well-known international media outlets.

Awards & Prizes

Competition Section Awards

- For Feature-length Fiction Films：Best Film, Best Director, Best New Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score or Best Visual Effects

- For Documentary Films: Best Documentary Film

- For Animation Films: Best Animation Film

- Jury Prize

Rules & Terms

ARTICLE 1
In order to apply for the Competition Section of the 9th Silk Road International Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as SRIFF or The Festival), the submissions must comply with the following regulations.

ARTICLE 2
The Silk Road International Film Festival was founded by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in 2014 to comprehensively implement China’s national strategy of The Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation among countries along The Belt and Road routes and to further develop the Chinese audiovisual industry.

As a key part of Silk Road Film and Television Project, the Festival is held annually alternating between the provinces of Shaanxi and Fujian.

ARTICLE 3
The 11th SRIFF will be held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China from 21st to 25th September 2024.

ARTICLE 4
The Competition Section includes feature-length fiction films, documentary films and animation films.
The Festival will award the following prizes in accordance with the decision of the International Jury:
- For Feature-length Fiction Films：Best Film, Best Director, Best New Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score or Best Visual Effects
- For Documentary Films: Best Documentary Film
- For Animation Films: Best Animation Film
- Jury Prize
The International Jury will be composed of personalities from the world of cinema and culture from various countries who are invited by the Festival. The winners will be officially announced at the Closing & Awards Ceremony.
No members of the Jury can be in any way involved in the production or distribution of the selected films.

ARTICLE 5
Only films that meet the following conditions are eligible for selection:
- Feature-length fiction films and animation films must be more than 70 minutes long;
- Documentary films must be more than 60 minutes long;
- Films that were completed after 1st January 2023;
- World and International Premieres are given priority;
- Films in any language other than Chinese Mandarin must be provided with Chinese or English subtitles;
-Films produced in China must obtain the approval by China Film Administration;
- Should the film be selected, it must be available in Digital Cinema Package.
The Festival has the right to reject any film that does not meet all or part of the above requirements, as well as any film that does not meet China’s laws or related cultural policies.

ARTICLE 6
In order to be eligible for the selection, the submitters must, no later than 10th July 2024, 24:00 (UTC+8):
- Submit the movie on the Festival's website www.xasriff.com or on FilmFreeway;
- Submit the preview screener through a link, or send a copy (DVD, USB, Hard Disk）to the following address by 10th July 2024:
The 11th Silk Road International Film Festival Competition Section
Floor 20, Fenglan International Office Building A, 32 Xizhimen North Street, Haidan District, Beijing 100024, China
Mobile:+86 150 0105 9907
Email: competition@xasriff.com

The preview screener of the submitted film should meet the following criteria:
-Format: MOV or MP4 video file with at least 1920*1080;
-File size must not exceed 5GB;
-Subtitled in English (including films for which the original language version is in English);
-The only acceptable watermark is “SRIFF Preview” on the upper right corner of the frame;
-Send a preview screener in the original version.

If you submit an online screener, it must be valid with the same password until 25th September 2024.

If you send a copy (DVD, USB, Hard Disk), the cost of sending the package will be paid by the submitter. The Festival reserves the right to refuse any shipments entailing additional costs. Copy sent for pre-selection will not be returned. The Festival accepts no responsibility for damage suffered during the delivery of the copy to the festival. Please send the package with the following customs declaration: “no commercial value, for cultural purposes only”. Please inform the Festival Committee by email, and provide the tracking number.

ARTICLE 7
The Festival will consider for inclusion all eligible films that have been submitted by the above deadline and in accordance with these terms and conditions. The Festival reserves the right to consider for inclusion films received at any time and through any means, channel or process, including means, channels or processes other than those outlined in these terms and conditions.
If a film is selected, the Festival will contact the submitter and send an official invitation. The invitation of a film to participate must remain confidential until the programme is announced by the Festival. Failure to comply may result in its exclusion from the selection.
The selected film shall send back the Receipt of the Invitation and an Official Entry Form to be duly completed within 5 workdays after receiving the invitation from the Festival. Receipt of the form by the Festival implies the legal acceptance of the invitation by all concerned and will be considered definitive and irrevocable. If the submitter requests to withdraw the film, the Festival shall have the right for the final decision.

ARTICLE 8
The submitters of invited films must send before the required time the following:
- Promotional materials: synopsis, stills, posters, trailers, film clips, director’s biography, director’s photos, cast and crew list, etc.;
- The DCP copy of the original version with Chinese/ English subtitles for the official screenings. If your DCP is encrypted, please inform the Festival Committee;
- Online screener of the original version with English subtitles as a reserve copy for the International Jury (it must be valid with the same password until 25th September 2024)；
- Dialogue lists in original language, as well as English subtitles list.
Selected films shall authorize the Festival to use the entry form information and promotional materials for the Festival’s promotion purpose, including, but not limited to the brochure, website, closing & award ceremony and press.

ARTICLE 9
All shipping costs for the selected films’ DCPs from the place of origin to the venues of the Festival will be at the expense of the Festival (including customs charges). The shipment should follow the instructions provided by the Festival.
In case of damage to or loss of the DCP during the period from the receipt to the delivery of DCP by the Festival, the Festival is responsible for the costs of making a new DCP according to the current laboratory rates for ordering a standard DCP.
The Festival will return the print to the address indicated after the Festival ends.
Except for the DCP, other advertising and promotional materials sent to the Festival will not be returned.

ARTICLE 10
Participation in the Festival automatically entails observance of the present Regulations.
The Submitters (including but not limited to producers, distributors, sales or other parties) who submit films to the Festival must guarantee that they are authorized by the production companies and have already received consent from the third parties involved in the film production.

ARTICLE 11
The Festival will evaluate the situation to consider if it is able to host guests. If possible, the director or the main cast of the selected films will be invited to attend the Festival.

ARTICLE 12
The Organizing Committee of the 11th Silk Road International Film Festival reserves the right to adjudicate any cases not covered by the Regulations herein, and can make exceptions to the Regulations in justified, well-motivated cases. Should any dispute arise regarding the interpretation of any article contained in these Regulations, the original Chinese version is to be considered binding.
If you have any questions or concerns about the regulations, please contact: competition@xasriff.com.