Entering its sixth year, the annual Beijing International Film Festival is set to hold its opening ceremony on Saturday. The festival, which will also hold various forums, screenings and market activities, is scheduled to run until April 23.
Similar to previous years, the festival will include the Tiantan Awards, the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, a film concert and a film carnival.
Approximately 500 films from 105 countries and regions will be screened over the course of the festival.
Set to broadcast on both TV and the Internet, the opening ceremony will see international stars like US director and producer Brett Ratner, US actress Natalie Portman, Italian director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore and German actor Christoph Waltz attend the red carpet.
A number of domestic singers, as well as 11-year-old US singer Lexi Walker, who gained popularity with his cover of the Frozen theme song "Let it Go" will perform at the ceremony.
At a press conference on Thursday, organizers announced that the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum will feature dialogues from Portman, American-Chinese director Raman Hui, British producer Iain Smith and China's Bona Film Group Chairman Yu Dong. Topics covered will include international co-productions and cross-cultural creation and innovation.