The Belt and Road Film Night gave the top award to Russia's "The Sun Above Me Never Sets," concluding the Belt and Road Film Week on Wednesday night during the ongoing 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival.

The event, held at the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Shanghai, is the award ceremony for the Belt and Road Film Week. Presidents, representatives of various film festivals, and renowned filmmakers attended the ceremony to witness the glorious moments.

The Shanghai film festival received 1,875 applications of films from 53 countries and regions along the Belt and Road route. There were a total of 24 films from 24 countries screened at the Belt and Road Film Week in Shanghai. The main theme of the film week is "The Light and Life." Organizers noted that "no matter who we are and where we are from, the light in people's heart and the light of people's life is the universal value for us to seek."

Film critics and professional film selectors from China, Bangladesh, Estonia, Hungary, and Iran selected five films to vie for Belt and Road Film Week awards. "Crystal Swan," "First Farewell," "Scandinavian Silence," "Genesis," "Sui Dhaaga: Made in India," "Bille," "Good Morning," and "The Sun Above Me Never Sets" were selected by the panel of experts. 

After gathering professional opinions from film journalists and critics, as well as the votes from audiences, the event committee presented the three awards to honor excellent films and filmmakers from the Belt and Road Film Week. 

"The Sun Above Me Never Sets" won both the Audience Choice Award and the Media Choice Awards for Film. The film tells how a young man helps an old man to find the latter's daughter in his last days and how the young man postpones the old man's plan to die on a deserted island. 

Belarus's "Crystal Swan" also won the Media Choice Awards for Film while Chinese director Wang Lina ("First Farewell") and Hungarian director Arpad Bogdan ("Genesis") received the Media Choice Awards for Filmmakers.

Frant Gwo, director of the Chinese sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth," said at the event that "I firmly believe dreams can be shared with others through the screen. I have met more fellow filmmakers here, and communication among members of the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance have made civilizations look more colorful.”  

Since the launch of "The Silk Road Panorama" in 2015, Shanghai International Film Festival has been actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiatives. Last year, the film festival launched the Belt and Road Film Week and the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance with 31 members from 29 countries. This year, the alliance welcomes seven new members.

The Belt and Road Film Week held several events during the past few days, such as film screenings, post-screening talks, the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance Press Conference, the Shanghai International Film Festival Market Screening and Meeting, the Belt and Road Film Week Opening Film, the Shanghai International Film Festival Market Showcase: Global Film Production Incentives, Film Culture Roundtable Talk, and the Belt and Road Film Night, which were well received by Chinese and foreign filmmakers and institutions. Congratulations to all the successful joint projects and co-productions that have been achieved in the past year. A new round of cooperation on cinematic work and cultural exchange was launched last Saturday.

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