Who did you meet again after a long separation?, This Shanghai International Film Festival has 420000 audience members and 80 face-to-face meetings
On June 17th, as the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival approached its end, there was light rain outside, and the Da Guang Guang Cinema on Nanjing West Road was still bustling with people. Just finished a meeting for the premiere of the film, and the audience left the thousand person hall in an orderly manner. The door was filled with the next audience waiting to enter. In front of the poster display board of the Shanghai Film Festival, a pair of best friends took selfies with movie tickets. Someone raised their phone to shoot the crowd around them, and the camera scanned faces full of anticipation and sense of achievement. Movie tickets and photos posted on social media witness the long separation and reunion of the Shanghai International Film Festival with movies, fans, and filmmakers.
The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival concluded on June 18th. According to statistics, a total of 1490 films were screened at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, of which 80 had post screening or pre screening audience meetings. As of June 16th, there were 426000 viewers. In just ten days, Chinese and foreign filmmakers and film masterpieces gathered together on a vast international exchange and cooperation platform to jointly participate in the Light and Film Festival.
The gift for the film festival can only be a movie
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Shanghai International Film Festival. As director Chen Kaige said at the Golden Jue Awards, "The gift given to a film festival can only be a movie." At this year's film festival, filmmakers have jointly brought this gift to Chinese fans. Five units, including the Golden Jubilee Awards, Asian Newcomers, Documentary, Animated, and Short Film, featuring 53 main creators from 26 countries and regions, all gathered in Shanghai without any absence. The 36 world premieres and 12 international premieres of the film have allowed Chinese audiences to experience the current diverse creative trends and the resonance and fusion of human emotions.
Japanese actor and director Kuo Saito once won the Best Director award at the Shanghai International Film Festival for his debut work "13 Years of Blank Space". His second feature film, "Sweet Home," has once again chosen to premiere globally in Shanghai. There were two rounds of applause at the screening site, one at the end of the film and the other when the director's name appeared in the subtitles at the end of the film. This is the tacit understanding of the audience at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Saito Gong sat in the cinema and watched the film with the audience, observing the reactions of Chinese audiences to this alternative Japanese family themed film. The result made him feel at ease: "No matter which country, people resonate with themes related to family." An audience member who stood up and asked questions in Japanese excitedly said, "Six years ago, when the premiere of" Blank 13 Years "came, I sat in the first row and shook hands with you. Now my heart is pounding." Saito Gong smiled and answered in Chinese, "Thank you."
91 year old famous Japanese director Yoko Yamada arrived in Shanghai with his 90th directorial work "Hello Mom". This film also tells the story of family and ordinary people, making people feel warm and moved after watching it. This legendary white haired director appeared at the premiere of the film and was referred to by the live audience as an unforgettable memory of his lifetime.
The director of the Italian film "The First Day of Life", Paul Genovese, has visited the Shanghai International Film Festival for the fourth time. He once served as a judge for the main competition unit of the Golden Earl Awards and said, "The Shanghai International Film Festival is a great opportunity to showcase films. With the film here, I can feel the feedback and emotions conveyed by the Chinese audience."
This year's film festival, including 17 Chinese films nominated for the five units of the Golden Earl Awards, showcased a total of 75 Chinese films. Among them, 22 films such as "Between the Cracks", "Treasure Land in Front of the Door", "In the Octagonal Cage", and the new 4K restored version "Early Spring in February" premiered globally at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The production teams of "Volunteers: Heroes Attack", "Fengshen Part 1", "King of the Long Sky" and others stepped onto the opening red carpet. The titles of the opening and closing films "I Love You!" and "Passionate" of this year's film festival seem like Chinese filmmakers are using light and shadow to express beautiful emotions.
Civilization mutual learning and continuous growth of filmmakers
The Shanghai International Film Festival continues to meet friends and learn from each other in a civilized way. "For Lao films, being nominated for the Shanghai International Film Festival and meeting with everyone in Shanghai proves the charm of the work, and I am happy about it," said Lee Fongsavan, director of the Asian newcomer unit and Lao film "Signal", at a media conference
Entering the fifth year of the "the Belt and Road" Film Week, we will further improve and improve the long-term development mechanism through exchanges and mutual learning. During this year's film festival, 20 members and guests from 18 countries and regions in the alliance gathered together and put forward suggestions to further strengthen cooperation and implement the joint promotion of high-quality development of film culture.During this year's film festival, this Sino Greek co produced film came to Shanghai for a special screening, realizing the director's dream of drawing a circle, forming a bond, and expressing a wish for light and shadow. By the end of this film festival, the "the Belt and Road" film week had shown 111 new works from 115 directors from 49 countries.
Adhering to the positioning of "focusing on Asia, paying attention to Chinese language, and supporting newcomers", the Shanghai International Film Festival has continuously strengthened the talent cultivation in the film industry chain. It has formed a talent cultivation system for short videos, Golden Jue short films, venture capital training camps, film project venture capital, Golden Jue Asian newcomer units, Golden Jue Awards, and SIFF YOUNG Shanghai Youth Film Support Program. This year's film project venture capital received a total of 679 valid project applications. After selection, 33 projects were shortlisted, and a total of 643 negotiations were completed during the event.
The SIFF YOUNG Shanghai Youth Film Support Program has announced the list of selected filmmakers. Directors Wen Muye, Shen Ao, Liu Xunzimo, Shao Yihui, Li Xiaofeng, as well as producers Dunhe and screenwriter You Xiaoying, will further unleash their creative potential as selected filmmakers under the support of Shanghai film policies. Among the 33 shortlisted venture capital projects, there are also "old friends" and "new works". Malaysian director Chen Cuimei, who served as a judge for the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival Asian Newcomer Award, presented her venture capital project presentation with "Faraway" and also served as the short video unit mentor for this year's film festival, helping newcomers grow together. She said, "Being a newcomer is the best state for filmmakers."
At the "Thirty Year Old" Shanghai International Film Festival, "Growth" is an interesting theme, as the chairman of the Jury for this year's Golden Earl Awards, 82-year-old Jazz Skolimovsky, said: "I think my latest film" EO "is the best film I have ever made in my career, and I am still a young director."
The film market of this year's Shanghai International Film Festival has fully returned to offline. More than 100 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions participated in the offline market, covering film production and distribution, filming bases, content production, post production, film and television institutions, investment and financing, technical support and other aspects of the film industry chain. They held 9 market activities and 5 market screenings. The significant change is that Chinese and foreign exhibitors come to the film market not only to seek product copyright transactions, but also to promote film policies and showcase the agglomeration effect of industrial development in various countries and regions. The online "International Film and Television Cloud Market" that continues to be preserved has showcased a total of 120 exhibitors and 297 projects from 27 countries and regions. The industry is seeking innovation and change, and the film market is also keeping pace with the times and constantly seeking innovation and change.
The recovery momentum of China's film industry is being seen by the world
At this year's film festival, the newly renovated Shanghai Cinema, along with 40 selected cinemas covering 16 districts in the city, showcased nearly 450 films from 70 countries and regions in 16 main units and 37 sub units. In addition to cinema screenings, Chenshan Automobile Cinema showcased six films from the classic review theme of "Science Fiction Film Week" in a public welfare manner, with 48 open parking spaces for each screening, becoming a special experience for this year's film festival. In addition, six cinemas in five cities, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Hefei, screened six films of the the Belt and Road Film Week, a total of 36 films.
The 48 hour Video Challenge held at the Shanghai International Tourism Resort features 8 young contestants from 117 registered teams, with the theme of "Creating the Future". They engage in extreme creativity within 48 hours. The recommender and director Liu Xiaoshi encouraged, "No matter how difficult it is, we must persevere."
The recruitment of volunteers for this year's film festival received nearly 9000 registrations, and about 90 out of the 735 selected volunteers came specifically from other places or even overseas to Shanghai. The "Thirty Years of Light" exhibition of the Shanghai International Film Festival held at the Daguang Cinema attracted over 20000 people to check in and watch the exhibition.
With the theme of "Light and Shadow Connecting the World and China" as the opening forum, the Golden Jue Forum of this film festival held 12 industry dialogues, covering the entire film industry chain. At the film academy, affectionately known as the "master class", four Chinese and foreign film masters, practitioners, and fans, including Hong Kong director Chen Kexin, Hungarian director Ilteco Inyeti, Chinese director Zhang Lv, and Japanese director Sanotaka, shared their insights and experiences on movies.
This year's film festival embraces the wave of digitalization, bringing together cutting-edge technology and high-quality projects in film and television from both domestic and international sources. Activities such as "Science Fiction Film Week" and "Digital Film and Television Experience Exhibition - Supersensory Experimental Field" have attracted numerous citizens to participate; Chinese science fiction filmmakers Guo Fan, Wang Hongwei, Lu Chuan, Zhang Shiyu, and Dong Runnian have launched a "Huashan debate" on the future of Chinese science fiction films. The concept of the metaverse has also been applied to this year's Shanghai International Film and Television Festival - the Metafilm Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Metaverse Experience Roadshow Center, which attracted nearly 100000 professionals and ordinary fans to check-in and experience during the festival.
Several overseas media outlets, including "Screen," "Variety," and "Hollywood Reporter," which are considered the "three major industries," have paid close attention to this year's Shanghai International Film Festival. "This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Shanghai International Film Festival, marking a resurgence of momentum in China's commercial and film industries.". The enthusiasm of movie fans and the vision of filmmakers condense the city's yearning and pursuit for a better life, which is seen by the world.
