"When I choose scripts," Duan said, "I usually don't work with the directors who are very famous. I put more value in whether the directors really care about people's destinies."

The other jurors are Shu Qi, an actress from Taiwan, Ruben Ostlund, a Swedish director acclaimed for his Palme d'Or-winning The Square at the Cannes Film Festival last year, Jan Kaczmarek, a Polish film score composer who won an Academy Award for Finding Neverland, Calin Peter Netzer, the Romanian director of the 2013 Golden Bear winner Child's Pose in Berlin, and Jonathan Mostow, the Hollywood action director best known for Terminator 3.

Mostow said the Beijing festival is a venue for different cultures from all over the world to communicate, and it will long inspire filmmakers, including him. Ostlund revealed he will be looking in China for the right actors for his next film.

More than 300 events - including forums, premieres, and trade fairs - will be held in the coming week for the festival, which ends on April 22.