LOME, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The ninth Togo International Film Festival and China Film Week opened on Tuesday in Lome, the capital of Togo.

The five-day festival, themed "Telling Our Realities: African Cinema in Local Languages and Everyday Narratives," aims to showcase film productions rooted in African cultural and linguistic realities.

At the opening ceremony, Togo's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts Issac Tchiakpe expressed gratitude to the Chinese side for the support for this year's festival, saying the Togo International Film Festival is gradually developing into a film event with international influence.

Togo stands ready to take this opportunity to further deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges with China and enrich bilateral relations, Tchiakpe said.

In her speech, Chinese Ambassador to Togo Wang Min congratulated the opening of the festival, noting that films serve as a bridge for mutual learning among civilizations.

Beyond conveying stories and aesthetics, films reflect a nation's love of life, pursuit of beauty and aspirations for the future, she said, adding that the festival is an important platform to enhance mutual understanding and build consensus between the peoples of China and Africa.

As this year marks the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, Wang said China is willing to use film as a bridge to carry forward traditional friendship with Togo and enable audiences in Togo and across Africa to see a real, multidimensional and comprehensive China.

This year's festival features two competition sections. The international competition showcases 16 feature films: eight documentaries and eight fiction films from countries including Benin, Senegal and France. The national competition, open to Togolese filmmakers, focuses on short films, with 17 entries comprising five documentaries and 12 fiction works.

The China Film Week, jointly hosted by the China Film Administration, the Chinese Embassy in Togo, Togo's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts, and the Togolese National Center for Cinema and Animation, and organized by the China Film Archive, will feature the screening of six Chinese films, including YOLO, The Wandering Earth 2, and My People, My Country. ■