We do not have a movie dream.

We want the annual HIFF to be more like a competition, a super World Cup qualifier that assembles the most promising athletes. The competition also owns the most impartial judges, as they are equipped with world-renowned artistic attainments as their best weapons for “arbitration”, representing the selection criteria of HIFF. Such a competition adopts a worldwide recognized set of systems and rules, as a result, every participant feels honored, and every award-winning experience is unparalleled.

We hope that one-day HIFF will become a ‘Hall of Fame’ rather than a ‘Vanity Fair’ for cinema. The directors who have won awards here have gained the ambition to believe that their films can make a difference for the world instead of immediate fame and fortune for themselves.

A “Hall of Fame” cannot be built up in a day but requires years of sustained efforts. Therefore, despite the outburst of the COVID-10 pandemic in 2020, we still overcame all obstacles with unparalleled determination and perseverance to keep "the competition going, the love going", and beyond expectation, receiving 2,420 film submissions. In 2021, the number has reached a record high of 6,025.

The road leading to the great dream of World cinema is a long one, on which only dream-chasers, but also dream-makers are needed. Such dream-makers are responsible for building platforms and fences, adding bricks and tiles, as well as gathering firewood so that more dream-chasers can give full play to their talents and achieve their dreams of becoming a hero, a swordsman, or a king of their realms. HIFF is one of these self-appointed dream-makers, and we are willing to accompany the creators in the desolation outside the spotlight, supporting their projects, careers, dreams, and visions with one heart and concerted efforts.

Boundaries are not set so we constantly initiate changes that drive innovations in domestic film festivals. Youth are respected so we can share the sensitiveness, energy, and vitality of the cutting-edge directors. Bold attempts and a flash of inspiration are encouraged so there are opportunities for miracles…In, what happens here and what is experienced here are so enticing and encouraging, as a moveable feast.

We do not have a movie dream, but we believe we can fly.