The opening ceremony of the Maritime Silk Road International Documentary Film Festival. [Photo/fjsen.com]

The opening ceremony of the 2023 Maritime Silk Road International Documentary Film Festival, or MSRDOC, took place in Quanzhou, Fujian province on July 3, with nearly 400 people including heads of domestic and foreign film and television institutions, well-known directors, experts and scholars attending the event.

During the ceremony, two-time Oscar-winning British filmmaker Malcolm Clarke read out the event's initiative, which proposed that MSRDOC will firmly advocate the unique value of documentaries in enhancing social development, preserving historical relics, highlighting humanistic spirit and facilitating exchanges and cooperation among countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road.

Clarke said China has many stories to tell and encouraged documentary makers to visit China to feel its vitality. Clarke was the director of the documentary "A Long Cherished Dream", which documents the changes China has made over the years.

The ceremony also saw letters of intent for five international joint production projects signed. These projects are related to topics about China's culture, economy and ecology.

During the festival's main forum, renowned scholars and representatives from leading documentary studios as well as famous documentary directors and producers shared their opinions about how to boost and promote communication between different societies, and how documentary films can enhance cross-cultural communication.

The 2023 MSRDOC will run for four days to July 6 and feature a series of activities such as documentary forums, extraordinary documentaries screening, and exchange meetings with prestigious filmmakers.