BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The first Cell Phone Film Festival will be kicked off in September in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The event is not only the first one of its type in China, but also the first in Asia.

Wang Jun, a senior official of Xi'an, said here Saturday at a press conference that the annually held event marks a breakthrough in China's film industry.

The festival, according to Wang, will invite Chen Guo, a well-known director in Hong Kong to chair the jury committee. Anyone interested in making film can join the competition by submitting their 10-minute film products via the official website Sina.com, from July 8 to Aug. 25.

"Any subjects will be welcome," Chen said, noting that details of awards have not been decided.

Statistics show that China so far has more than 400 million cell phone users.

Wang said, with the development of cell phone technology and the upgrading of China's telecommunications industry to 3G, cell phone film will become a new content for entertainment that may even take the place of cinema.

Cell phone film overcomes the disadvantages of the traditional films such as long-term for producing or the limited space for casting, therefore it has a great potential market, said Wang.

Chen Weiming, president of the Zhongbo Media Co. Ltd. which is also a chief sponsor of the festival, said three cell phone films will be produced to tell the history and present of Xi'an.

Wang revealed that relevant research and development departments on cell phone film will be established in Xi'an, which is also known as one of the six information industry bases in China. Enditem