It is our ceremony, taking a group photo at Guangming Cinema during the Shanghai Film Festival every year
In 2014, several young people from Nanjing embarked on a journey to the Shanghai International Film Festival at the Daguang Cinema. With freshness and excitement, Tao Minhan and his friend Li Haoran took a group photo in front of the poster at the Great Bright Cinema. Every year after the film festival, they would take a group photo in the same position at the Great Bright Cinema in the same posture, and even if one person was absent in a certain year or two, they would create a silhouette of a human figure. This is their special ceremony and also a special memory of the Shanghai Film Festival.
On June 6th, they made an appointment to come to the Daguang Cinema to watch the "Thirty Years of Light - Shanghai International Film Festival 30th Anniversary Exhibition". Now, Tao Minhan is about to graduate with a doctoral degree from Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Li Haoran has also worked in a film and television company in Shanghai for many years. Like many movie fans, the Shanghai International Film Festival has witnessed their growth and they are also feeling the gradual development and growth of the Shanghai Film Festival.
Follow the "leading lady" to Shanghai
Standing in front of a row of official posters for the Shanghai International Film Festival, Tao Minhan recognized at a glance the poster for the first Shanghai International Film Festival he participated in. "At that time, I was still pursuing a master's degree at Nanjing Academy of Arts. One of my senior sisters was a veteran movie fan, and she brought us to Shanghai to watch movies together."
Tao Minhan remembers that they came by high-speed rail and booked a hotel near the Daguang Cinema. They watched a total of 15 movies in 5 days.
Tao Minhan was born in Nanjing. Although his father and grandfather were both from Shanghai, he was not very familiar with the city at that time. Senior sister is their "leading elder sister", helping them arrange detailed itineraries and film schedules. "We have four people, which films we need to compete for, and senior sister will assign tasks to us." He still remembers that the first movie he watched at the Shanghai Film Festival was the Japanese comedy film "Qingsu Conference. What impressed him deeply was the atmosphere of watching movies. "Coming to the Shanghai Film Festival to watch movies, one can feel a very quiet atmosphere. Even the sound of a silver needle landing can be heard, and everyone quietly reads the subtitles from their seats before standing up and applauding." Sitting in the Thousand People Hall of the Daguang Cinema, the special sense of ceremony and atmosphere made him, who loves movies, burst into tears.
Li Haoran was Tao Minhan's undergraduate classmate and one of the "Top Ten Singers on Campus" in college. They once formed a group with another classmate to perform a song, "There is a group called 183 Club, and we are 1.81 meters tall, so we call 181 Club." After graduation, Li Haoran did not choose to pursue postgraduate studies, but instead went to work at a television station. "During that period of bad mood, I took a few days off to come to the Shanghai International Film Festival to heal and relax."
After watching the Qingxu Conference, two good friends took a group photo at the entrance of the Daguang Cinema to commemorate it. "At that time, we came to Shanghai like tourists, and taking group photos was also with a fun mindset. The next year, the two of them came to the Shanghai International Film Festival to watch movies. Tao Minhan, who was studying film history, had become a" quasi film scholar ", while Li Haoran became a worker in the film industry. Their fate with the festival deepened.". At the Shanghai International Film Festival, taking a group photo at the same location as the Great Bright Cinema has become a ritual they must complete every year.
Almost sold "Love and Duty"
Tao Minhan recalled that in 2014, the schedule was very full every day, almost watching one in the morning, one in the middle, and one in the evening, from 8:30 in the morning until the early morning of the next day. Since I often have to go to different cinemas to catch up with the audience, I didn't have time to eat, so I went to the family convenience store to heat up a Rice and vegetable roll and chew some.
Sometimes, watching art films can also make you fall asleep tired. For example, while watching Tom Hedleston's "Eternal Love", the protagonist kept his voice down and the audience seemed to be hypnotized. Suddenly, a "bang" sound of heavy metal guitar rang out, and everyone woke up in collective shock. "It was a very interesting experience."
In the past, there was only one film that Tao Minhan wanted to watch - "Love and Obligation", which had just been discovered and repaired. "I am studying the history of Chinese cinema. Movies like this that were scattered around the world and never seen before are called orphan films, and it is very rare to appreciate them."
Love and Obligation, starring Jin Yan and Ruan Lingyu, is a black and white silent film that was also one of the popular films at that time. The screening was on the evening of June 17th, and someone at the entrance was willing to buy tickets at several times the price. Li Haoran, who was extremely hungry, said to Tao Minhan, "I want to sell my movie tickets and eat at McDonald's. Silent movies, I don't quite understand, do I?"
"A movie that has a profound sense of the times and is so rare. The movie's energy-saving schedule is amazing, and in such a large hall, such a rare viewing opportunity, only two were scheduled in total. I grabbed this ticket, but you actually told me you wanted to sell it!" Li Haoran still remembers Tao Minhan's earnest persuasion. In the end, he did not sell his ticket and gained the most unforgettable viewing experience. "There was an elderly commentator reciting a voiceover and a pianist playing music on site, which was a very special experience. I have never seen such a movie before."
In Li Haoran's view, the sense of ceremony in watching movies at the Shanghai Film Festival is something that regular movie watching does not possess. When I participated in the 17th Shanghai Film Festival, I observed that sometimes when the audience saw a name in the subtitles, they would applaud again. It wasn't until the subtitles were played and the lights lit up that everyone left. Respect for every behind the scenes worker and film art is also the significance of Shanghai Film Festival.
