Xining First Youth Film Festival, a program designed to discover talented young filmmakers, began on Monday in the Golden Hall inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The expert panel consisting of well-known filmmakers, spokespersons and an evaluation committee of 31 college students raised crystal bricks to the hall's large screen, symbolizing the start of the event.

The government of Xining, Qinghai province, and China Film Critics Society are hosting the exhibition. Over the past five years, the event has evolved from the College Students' Film and Video Festival into Xining First Youth Film Festival, expanding its scope to reach youth all over the world. This year's chairwoman of the expert panel is Xu Feng, who was twice named best actress at the Golden Horse Awards. Xu is also a senior filmmaker, which shows that the festival is in an attempt to connect young, aspiring filmmakers with well-known industry veterans.

Beginning this week, the expert panel wills elect which films they will feature in the event's major exhibition, which will take place from July 19 to 28 in Xining.

Video: Cong Fangjun, Cong Ruiting

Producer: Flora Yue