(Source: CGTN)

The Beijing International Film Festival is officially seven years old! It celebrated its 7th birthday at Beijing's China Film Group State Production Base with a star-studded red carpet event and an opening gala steeped in the city's culture.

Bollywood star Aamir Khan still creates a buzz as he greets fans on the red carpet. Although the cast of "Youth Dinner" themselves are enough to whet the appettite, joining a host of Chinese actors and directors here to announce their upcoming productions.

Here at the Beijing Film Festival, everyone is welcome, whether you're an oversized stuffed animal, or someone who still needs to be cuddled, such as the former vampire, Damon Salvatore, who, as it turns out, has been visiting China for the past ten years!
 
"I've been to North East South and West. I've been all the way to the West and all the way to the East, everything from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou. I've been through the Yinchuan Province, the Gobi dessert. I shot a movie here. I had a horse and I had camel, and I saw this country as a whole, North East South and West. And it's really special," Actor & Producer Ian Somerhaolder said.

"Im sincerely happy and I'm enjoying my time here because I see people on the street who I understand. I see them driving the bike and I see them driving quickly the car, I see their facades, I'm like at home," Director Emir Kusturica said.

This year's Tiantan Award is judged by an international panel of seven industry experts, including China's Jiangwenli; jury president, Danish director Bille August; and the renowned French actor Jean Reno.

"I came when i was just visiting. Now I'm a jury and I feel responsible," Actor Jean Reno said.

For seven years the BJIFF has been bringing films and industry professionals from China and around the world to what will be a weeklong extravaganza. This year, it's also trying hard to make the festival a window to the vibrant Beijing and Chinese culture.

Chinese ink brush painting rendered through dance, Kungfu acrobatics, LIVE in 3D cinematic glory. And a classic Chinese pop song "Tian Mimi" is sang in both English and Chinese.

But it was the Thousand-Hand-Buddha, performed by dancers who are all hard of hearing, that was the pinnacle of the night.

Audiences at this year's festival will no doubt be enthralled by the myriad of films that focus on the remarkable human condition, just like the many hands and faces of the Buddha of Love and Compassion.