With less than two months left before the curtain rises on the 15th FIRST International Film Festival, the event organizers held an event on Friday to announce the festival jury and discuss emerging trends in the film industry. 

Renowned Chinese actress Zhou Xun, screenwriter Quan Yongxian and directors and filmmakers Feng Xiaogang, Ma Yingli and Wang Yibing are on the FIRST Mart jury committee for the festival that is scheduled to be held in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, from July 25 to August 2. 

Members of competition jury are Chinese actresses Zhou Yun and Sylvia Chang, actor Chen Jianbin, cinematographer Dong Jinsong, sound designer Fu Kang and documentary maker Wu Wenguang.

Moreover, a short montage titled "A Frame of Her" was shown at the event. It featured movie clips showing female characters created by young filmmakers in the past 14 years since the founding of the film festival.

Insights on women-centric films

The event also featured a themed discussion titled "Before Cinema," where acclaimed directors, filmmakers and actors offered insights on women-centric productions.

Speaking during the event, Ying Ruoxin, director of hit family drama "Sister," stressed the need to balance male and female characters in movies and "avoid seeing things in black and white." 

Shao Yihui, director of film "The Myth of Love," talked about how female characters presented in most productions "lacked depth." She also lamented the one-dimensional depiction of female characters, calling on filmmakers to bring authenticity in the picture.