Chinese filmmakers pitch to global buyers at Beijing film festival

Filmmakers behind eight Chinese productions pitched their work to international buyers at the 16th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) on April 17 as part of the "Light Boat Project," a program designed to expand the reach of Chinese cinema abroad.

Chinese films are presented to international distributors and buyers at the 16th Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, April 17, 2026. [Photo courtesy of the BJIFF Organizing Committee]

The promotion, a key event within the festival's Beijing Market section, selected eight Chinese-language films from 65 submissions. The project addresses challenges these films face in international promotion and distribution, aiming to build a more effective year-round channel to global markets.

The selection provides international buyers "a one-stop window into the future of Chinese cinema," organizers said. The eight films, including "Scholars Under Fire," "When the Bottle Turns," "Last Breath" and "The Awkward Life of Mulan," cover diverse subjects and styles, from documentaries and historical biopics to art-house dramas and genre films.

While Chinese-language films have frequently gained acclaim at international festivals in recent years, many works that have succeed at home often fail to gain effective international exposure due to a lack of promotional pathways.

The event provided a targeted platform for the films while highlighting the project as a systematic distribution vehicle, organizers said.

In addition to the eight films presented on site, the project compiled the remaining 57 submissions with overseas potential into an official promotion collection to be sent to international distributors, festival programmers and other professional groups.