11th Silk Road International Film Festival concludes in Xi’an

The 11th Silk Road International Film Festival wrapped up in Xi'an, the capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Wednesday night, with the presentation of the festival's Golden Silk Road Awards.

Co-hosted by China Media Group and the provincial governments of Shaanxi and Fujian, the five-day festival kicked off on Saturday.

The festival had seen 24 films, including Chinese films "A Long Shot" -- a blend of drama and thriller, "Like a Rolling Stone" which portrays a Chinese woman's self-awakening, and documentary film "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru", which entered the final race to compete for the "Golden Silk Road Award", the annual award recognizing achievements in 10 categories, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor.

This year's "Golden Silk Road Award" received applications from 2,065 films from 136 countries and regions, setting a new record.

This year's festival specially established the "Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Art" to honor filmmakers who have made outstanding contributions to the film industry.

Zhang Yimou, a well-known Shaanxi-born director, won the title.

"I am very touched to receive this honor in my hometown. I am a native of Xi'an. My father is from Lintong and my mother is from Huxian. I grew up in Xi'an and my family has lived here for generations. It is the times that gave me the opportunity to engage in such an industry and come here today to accept this honor. I will keep working hard and hope to make better movies for people. I will always pursue my dream and keep learning," said the film director.

The festival has yielded fruitful results in cultural forums and project cooperation.

In addition, a series of special activities including the online and offline public screenings of excellent Chinese and foreign films was presented.

The Silk Road International Film Festival is an annual event. Xi'an, Shaanxi's provincial capital, and Fuzhou, Fujian's provincial capital, alternate as hosts of the prominent event.

The festival is also part of China's Silk Road Film Bridge Project, aiming to carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road and promote cooperation and exchanges of filmmakers from China and abroad.

11th Silk Road International Film Festival concludes in Xi’an

Greece is concerned that the recent escalation in the Middle East situation may trigger a new refugee surge to Europe, Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said Thursday in Athens.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Panagiotopoulos said Greece is paying close attention to the recent near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon. He expressed the Greek government's deep concerns over a potential Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon, which may risk dragging the entire Middle East into war and result in the exodus of illegal migrants and refugees from conflict-hit areas.

Greece, as the main point of entry for refugees fleeing into Europe, may bear the brunt of a potential migrant wave, he said.

"The dramatic turn of events in our wider region, like the escalation in Lebanon for example, would probably result in much bigger flows of refugees fleeing war zones. So, obviously, Greece will be affected," Panagiotopoulos said.

Should a refugee influx occur, the minister said, all members of the European Union should share the burdening of taking in the asylum seekers and set up a new mechanism to tackle the problem.

"There is a considerable increase [in] migration flows. That's for sure. I estimated that the flows are about 50 percent higher this year. As a transit country, as an entrance country to the European Union, all countries like Greece should engage in more comprehensive dialog in order to solve the problem. We have to act as one and not in unilateral ways," he said.

From the beginning of the year to Sept. 22, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, had registered a total of 38,452 migrants and refugees in Greece - with nearly 90 percent of them arriving by sea, almost reaching the number reported in the entire year of 2023.

Greece concerned over refugee influx from in Middle East amid escalating situation: minister