The 9th Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) came to an end on Tuesday in Xi'an, Shaanxi, with the winners of the highly anticipated "Golden Silk Road Awards" being announced at the closing ceremony.

This year's competition attracted 1,598 films from 90 countries and regions. The film "Close," a co-production between Belgium, the Netherlands and France, was the biggest winner, winning two major awards: Best Film and Best Director. "Close," a film about friendship and responsibility between two little boys, is directed by Lukas Dhont, and written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, reteaming after their first feature film "Girl" (2018). The film stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Emilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker. "Close" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022.

Screenwriter of the Chinese film "Yanagawa" Zhang Lv won Best Screenplay.

Best Actor and Actress went to Pål Sverre Hagen from Norway and Essie Davis from Australia respectively. 

In addition to the traditional programs such as the fine film exhibition and film forums, the SRIFF also featured a special program called "Film and the City" — film shooting location promotion. By nurturing and shaping a number of outstanding film location destinations, and building a platform for sharing resources in the cultural tourism industry, the film location economy is expected to provide renewed impetus for the development of China's film and cultural tourism industries. 

Since its inception in 2014, the SRIFF has set out to promote cultural exchange and cooperation between countries along the Belt and Road routes while encouraging the development of the Chinese audiovisual industry.