As announced at a media conference in Beijing on Thursday, the upcoming 3rd Chinese Documentary Film Festival is set to take place from Oct 24 to 26 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

The festival will be hosted by China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio (Group), China Film Association, and the publicity department of Zhuhai.

Cao Jun, deputy secretary-general of China Film Association, said in his speech that the annual film festival has become an important platform for Chinese-language documentary filmmakers from home and abroad to come together and seek common development.

"It is my hope that the festival's third edition will create a grand cinematic event with Chinese characteristics, international vision and a sense of humanism, and become a spiritual home for Chinese-language documentary filmmakers to progress together, so that more excellent works will be seen, recognized and loved, contributing to telling Chinese stories well and enhancing the soft power of Chinese culture," Cao said.

According to Zhu Qinxiao, deputy general manager of the China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio (Group), this year's festival will expand its scope to incorporate stage productions, provide a showcase platform for more documentary films, and feature innovative activities to bring documentaries closer to the public.

The festival has announced a diverse program of events, including an opening ceremony and keynote forum, a call for submissions of Chinese-language documentaries, a series of film screenings, panel discussions, new film promotions and gala ceremonies.

This year's call for submissions officially opened on Thursday, and will run until Sept 30, inviting Chinese-language documentary production companies and filmmakers to submit works completed between Jan 1, 2022, and Sept 30, 2024.

The festival also launched a short video and screenplay event that calls for entries on social media platforms from individuals and organizations. The submission event's promotional video, along with the festival's main poster and promotional videos, were released at the media conference.