6. The Pingyao International Film Festival 

The annual Pingyao International Film Festival (PIFF) was first conceived by celebrated Chinese art house filmmaker, Jia Zhangke and Italian film historian, Marco Muller, in 2017. The two served as the festival's founder and artistic director respectively, which was to be held every year in Pingyao, a 2,700-year-old ancient city and a World Cultural Heritage site in central Shanxi province. The festival aims to celebrate the achievements of international cinema and also promote the works of young Chinese directors, especially those produced in the non-Western world such as in China, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. Jia believes the Pingyao International Film Festival has gained widespread recognition in the global film industry as well as among international directors as many art-house filmmaker shave chosen Pingyao to do their world premieres. The festival might not be the biggest film festival in China, but the influence of the festival is growing.