THE Beijing International Film Festival, twice postponed, has settled on new dates later this month.

The flagship Chinese festival is typically held in April, but organizers postponed it until August, hoping that the pandemic would have subsided by then to an extent that international guests would be able to attend. But a flareup of Delta variant COVID-19 infections across several provinces in late summer forced a second delay.

The organizers said this week that they have committed to a new framework for an in-person program. The 11th Beijing International Film Festival will now be held Sept. 21-29 at 30 venues around the capital, with 300 Chinese and international film titles to be shown across more than 1,000 screenings. As previously announced, Chinese screen star Gong Li has been appointed president of the event’s main competition jury, which hands out the Tiantan Awards.

The ninth edition of the Beijing festival was the last instance when the event was held in person during its usual slot, running April 13-20, 2019. In May 2020, organizers held an online version of the festival on Chinese streaming giant iQiyi.

This year, iQiyi will still host an online component of the festival Sept. 15-Oct. 8, which will dramatically expand the event’s reach. The Beijing Radio and Television Station will also coordinate some broadcast screenings on its TV channels for the first time, a new program that has been dubbed, “Living Room Theater.”

The domestically focused Beijing Film Market will take place in tandem with the festival, featuring the usual program of panel discussions covering topics related to the development of the Chinese film industry.(SD-Agencies)