The Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) has received a record number of applications from filmmakers from 133 countries and regions, with more than 4,600 entries registered in 2026, the organizers said.

The HIIFF said on its WeChat page that China, Russia, Brazil, India, Iran and Spain were the most active in submitting applications. According to calculations, 824 applications were for feature films, 374 others for documentary films and another 3,434 for short films.

The organizers noted that the films submitted to the festival "span all five continents". They were shot in 135 languages and dialects.

Thus, the film screenings on China's southernmost Hainan Island that traditionally take place in December will bring together the most diverse parts of the world "from the Caribbean coast to the inland areas of Central Asia, from the highlands of South America to the islands of the Atlantic Ocean". Roughly half of the submitted films come from Asia, with about a third from Europe. Around 9 percent of them were coproduced by two or more countries.

As for themes, the 2026 HIIFF will feature a wide variety of genres, including animation, documentary, historical, social, family, drama, detective, comedy, teen, fantasy, melodrama, sports and science fiction films.

About a quarter of the films are student works and a third are directorial debuts. More than 57 percent of the directors are from the 1990s generation or younger. People involved in the creation of the submitted films are representatives of many professions, including doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, journalists, dancers, athletes, scientists and video game developers.

The organizers noted that the festival’s films "maintain a high level in both quantity and overall quality". They will select "new works demonstrating an exploratory spirit and creative potential", and thanks to international exchange of experience, "the film festival’s global horizon will expand even further".

Sanya has hosted the annual film festival since December 2018 when the inaugural event took place. Co-organized by China Media Group and the People's Government of Hainan Province, the HIIFF is considered one of China's main film festivals, drawing industry stars from across the globe. Notable participants have included world-famous actors and film directors such as Jackie Chan, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Sophie Marceau.