Martin Mhando, former president of the Zanzibar International Film Festival, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Film and Television Cooperation event. [Photo/Tide News]

The 2026 China-Africa Film and Television Cooperation event opened on Oct 23 at Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, bringing together African diplomats, filmmakers, scholars, and students.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Africa diplomatic relations and the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. The event is part of Jinhua's efforts to strengthen its cooperation with Africa, combining screenings, industry visits, technology discussions, and youth creation.

Chinese films, including The Wandering Earth II, have been screened across African countries since Oct 15. Meanwhile, Hengdian has screened six African feature films, two short films, four China-Africa AI shorts, and two documentaries.

An AI film technology session at the event focused on how artificial intelligence can support content production and cross-cultural distribution. African filmmakers also toured high-tech and virtual studios and live shooting sets to learn about Hengdian's production model.

Martin Mhando, former president of the Zanzibar International Film Festival, was inspired by Hengdian's unique industry resources, saying more co-productions could deepen mutual understanding.

Zhang Huiyu, director of the Peking University Television Research Center, said Africa's role as a narrator matters, pointing to African directors filming in China and joint production projects as more constructive than one-way content exports.