2nd Golden Panda Awards unveils nominees

The second Golden Panda Awards officially unveiled its nominations and commenced the final judging phase in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Sept. 8. Global jurors from the four major categories of film, TV drama, documentary and animation gathered to begin several days of in-depth evaluation work.

Chen Kaige, jury president of the awards, said, "Since its inception, the Golden Panda Awards has carried the noble mission of promoting mutual learning among civilizations and advancing the shared values of all humanity."

The renowned director, spoke via video at the launch event held in Chengdu on Sept. 8. "We are deeply aware of the weight of our responsibility as jurors. It relates to the measurement of artistic excellence, the guidance of creative direction, and above all, it concerns whether countless outstanding works and creators will receive fair recognition and due honor for their hard work."

The second Golden Panda Awards features four main categories of film, TV drama, documentary and animation. There are also Special Jury Awards. A total of 5,343 entries from 126 countries and regions were submitted for consideration. International productions accounted for 73.2% of all submissions.

According to organizers, the submitted works cover a wide range of themes. They demonstrate high production quality. Many of the outstanding productions represent the pinnacle of current film and television art. "We will adhere to the principle of artistic excellence, using professional vision, an open mind and moral conscience as our measure to evaluate the artistic value, philosophical depth, innovative boldness and humanistic concern of each work," Chen pledged.

The jury for this year's Golden Panda Awards consists of 27 respected figures from the international film and television industry, with nearly half coming from outside China. British television producer Mal Young chairs the TV drama jury, German director Patrick H?rl leads the documentary jury, and two Chinese directors Cai Zhijun and Huang Jianxin chair the juries of animation and film categories, respectively.

The finalists were unveiled as well. Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" and Pema Tseden's "Snow Leopard" were nominated for Best Picture along with Paola Cortellesi's "There's Still Tomorrow,'' Wim Wenders' "Perfect Days" and Anselm Chan's "The Last Dance" in the film category. The widely acclaimed TV series, "She and Her Girls," "Flourished Peony" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" were among those shortlisted for Best TV Drama.

Zhu Yilong, Song Jia, Francis Ng, Yu Hewei, Cillian Murphy, K?ji Yakusho and Juliette Binoche were also nominated for acting awards.

The record-breaking animation phenomenon "Ne Zha 2" was nominated for Best Animation. It competes against "I Am What I Am 2," "Stories of Dunhuang," "Children of the Bird" and "Blue Giant."

In the documentary category, nominees include "The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5," "Queens" and "Beyond the Far Side, the Dawn of a Space Revolution."

Over the coming days, jurors will engage in discussions to select the final winners. The list of award winners will be announced at the Golden Panda Awards ceremony on the evening of Sept. 13.

The Golden Panda Awards is a biennial event, co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the People's Government of Sichuan Province. Sichuan serves as its permanent host.

It aims to promote connection and shared experiences. This is symbolized by its name "Golden Panda" as the fondness for this cuddly animal is worldwide.