The 13th FIRST International Film Festival kicked off Saturday in Xining, Qinghai Province. "The Horse Thief," a 1986 Chinese film by director Tian Zhuangzhuang, is the opening film of this year's festival.

The predecessor of the FIRST International Film Festival is the Student DV Film Festival. It was founded in 2006 by Communication University of China (CUC) and settled in Xining in 2011, which was officially renamed the FIRST International Film Festival. Its original intention was to continuously discover and select young filmmakers' first works and early films to inspire creative courage and artistic confidence in young people.

Director Diao Yinan is chairman of the jury, which also includes renowned Chinese and foreign filmmakers such as Charles Gillibert, Charles Tesson, Zhao Fei, Shu Ping, Qin Hao and Chen Zheyi. They will judge the final 34 films and decide on 10 main awards, including best drama, best director and best actor, as well as two off-stage awards.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, this year's FIRST training camp invited Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf as a mentor, and Pema Tseden and Zhang Songwen as literary and acting advisers respectively. Within five days, they will guide 10 young filmmakers, study theory, and complete scripts and shooting plans. The 10 short films created by the young filmmakers in the training camp will be completed and put into post-production from July 20 and will premiere in the concert hall of Qinghai Grand Theatre on July 25.

Li Ziwei, CEO of FIRST International Film Festival, said that this year's festival put forward the concept of film market system for the first time, including venture capital, industry screening, financing forums and so on. Also, many film companies have the intent to cooperate with FIRST International Film Festival, paying attention to and supporting projects of young directors, Xinhua reported.

The festival runs through July 28, with a star-studded red carpet and awards ceremony. During the festival, 34 selected films will be shown in cinemas and outdoor cinemas in Xining.