Urumqi News, November 12. With 33 days to go before the opening of the 13th Belt and Road International Day (Silk Road Festival) and the Belt and Road Five Festivals Joint Celebration New Year Cultural Festival, the first Belt and Road Documentary Imaging Conference kicked off in Urumqi, Xinjiang. More than 100 participants including documentary directors, heads of media organizations, experts and scholars from 18 countries and regions gathered to discuss new mechanisms for documentary imaging cooperation and build a new platform for international cultural exchanges.
Under the theme of “Documentary Imaging Connects the Silk Road, Jointly Building a Beautiful Homeland”, the conference arranged six sessions of "Silk Road Dialogues". Chinese and foreign guests exchanged views on how to enhance mutual understanding and trust among people of all countries through documentary imaging.
Niyazbekov Jamshid Muksinovich, Advisor to the Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan, said that documentary imaging serves as an important carrier to record the times and promote people-to-people bonds. He suggested practitioners carry out joint production to create more excellent works and boost exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
Paul Lewis, Special Advisor to the Board of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) and international documentary consultant, introduced a documentary themed on wild animals along the Silk Road on site. He remarked that Xinjiang boasts magnificent natural landscapes and typical cases of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, which are well worth exploring by global practitioners.
Chen Entian, Chairman of the Silk Road International Guild Alliance and person-in-charge of the organizing committee of the Belt and Road Five Festivals Joint Celebration New Year Cultural Festival, extended his congratulations on the convening of the conference. He hoped that documentary directors, heads of media institutions and experts would pay close attention to the 13th Belt and Road International Day (Silk Road Festival) and the Belt and Road Five Festivals Joint Celebration New Year Cultural Festival. They could use documentary footage to record precious historical moments and leave valuable historical materials for future generations.
The conference issued the Initiative on Joint Creation of Belt and Road Silk Road Documentary Imaging, covering the establishment of cooperation platforms, unobstructed broadcasting channels and talent training. Multiple Chinese and foreign institutions signed cooperation agreements at the event, covering joint shooting, program mutual broadcasting, sharing of footage and scientific research data, and exchanges for young producers.
The event also announced the Golden Populus Euphratica Documentary Imaging List. Forty works from home and abroad will be screened and exhibited in universities, bookstores and cinemas across Xinjiang.
