[Global Times reporter Huang Lanlan and Global Times special correspondent Luc] As China’s oldest and only international Class A film festival (competitive non-specialized film festival), the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai Film

[Global Times reporter Huang Lanlan Global Times special correspondent Luc] As China’s oldest and only international A-type film festival (competitive non-specialized film festival), the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai Film Festival) It officially kicked off on the 14th. The 10-day Shanghai Film Festival is not only a grand event for the film industry, but also provides Chinese movie fans with a window to look at the world's film scene and understand the cutting-edge art. Although there is still a gap compared with the Cannes Film Festival, the top international film festival with a history of more than 70 years, the Shanghai International Film Festival has become more and more influential in Asia and the world, and its internationalization is accompanying the Chinese film market. development becomes more flexible and open.

There are many excellent new films

Founded in 1993, the Shanghai International Film Festival has developed a professional process from preparation, invitation, film selection to organizing screenings over the years. Many international filmmakers have sent their latest masterpieces to Shanghai. This year, more than 3,700 new Chinese and foreign films from 105 countries and regions around the world were registered. In the end, including competition films, 461 films from 64 countries and regions were screened, including 70 world premieres, 48 ​​international premieres, and Asian premieres. There were 81 premieres and 73 premieres in China. A total of 50 films competed for the Golden Goblet Award, the highest award. Among the 14 films in the main competition unit, 12 were world premieres and 2 were international premieres. This shows that the organizers attach great importance to "internationalization" and "premiere new films". Pay attention to.

The judges of the Golden Goblet Award will appear on the 14th.

Among the 14 new films shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Award this year, 4 are domestic films " The Hedgehog ", " A Man and a Woman ", "Sunshine Club" and "The Stars Are Waiting for Us" directed by Gu Changwei, Guan Hu, Wei Shujun and Zhang Dalei is a well-known director and a promising newcomer in the Chinese film industry. He is also starring in the film, including Ge You, Huang Bo, Ni Ni, Huang Xiaoming and other actors and stars with box office appeal. It can be said that these four films with different styles and textures and strong creative lineups represent the artistic pursuit direction of Chinese films in recent years, and are also an intergenerational inheritance. Among the other 10 international films, there are the magical work "A Bathroom of One's Own" which shows the life of Spanish women, the French film " The Fugitive " about a man retrieving his childhood in his hometown, and "The Fugitive" about a Bangladeshi woman fighting alone for her child. "The Silence of the Shell", Japanese director Miho Oh's heartwarming work "The Two Worlds I Live in", as well as the Georgian film "Snow in the Yard", the Kazakhstan film " divorce " and the Iranian film "Scavengers", etc.

The international nature of this year’s Golden Goblet Awards is also reflected in the jury lineup: the chairman of the jury is the French-Vietnamese director Chen Yingxiong, and other judges include Australian director Love de Hill and German director Matthias Glasner , Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre, as well as Chinese actors Zhou Xun, Liang Jiahui and director Song Taijia, etc. As a world-class director who has won the Venice Golden Lion, Chen Yingxiong won the Cannes Best Director Award for last year's "Fondue" and represented France in applying for the Academy Award for Best International Film. Chen Yingxiong came to Shanghai 13 years ago with " Norwegian Forest " and will serve as the chairman of the jury again this year. The Shanghai Film Festival has also prepared a retrospective exhibition of his and other judges' works.

In addition to the Golden Goblet Award and Asian Newcomer sections, this year there are also many new films from various countries "hidden" in other sections. In the "World First Films", "New Films by Famous Directors" and "Premiere Ceremony" sections, there are many new films that have never appeared in other film festivals or been released in theaters. Movie fans who buy these screenings will enjoy "blind opening" Box" surprise.

"Zero Time Difference in Cannes"

In terms of space, Shanghai is about 10,000 kilometers away from Cannes; but in terms of time, the Shanghai International Film Festival (June 14-June 23) is far away from the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-5 25th) only one month. In recent years, thanks to the efforts of the two film festival organizers, it has become possible to directly come to Shanghai to meet Chinese movie fans after the premiere of a new film at the Cannes Film Festival.2016's " Coffee Society ", 2018 Palme d'Or winner " Shoplifters ", and 2019's " Sorry, We Missed You " were all sold out at the Shanghai Film Festival, and even Cannes Artistic director Fumao also came to the Shanghai platform in person. This year, the Shanghai Film Festival launched the "Cannes Zero Time Difference" unit to dedicate these new "Cannes-style" films to Chinese audiences - a total of 15 feature films and 3 short films shortlisted for Cannes came to Shanghai, setting a record. Among them, the two Cannes main competition films "The Light of Imagination" and "My Marcelo" are the first choices, especially the new film "The Light of Imagination" by Indian female director Payal Kapadia, which won the Jury Prize. ", which expresses the plight of Indian women through the lives of three ordinary nurses, using realistic themes full of poetic techniques. "My Marcello" tells the story of Chiara, the daughter of the French "goddess" Deneuve and the Italian "goddess" Mastroianne, showing the bond between the "second generation of film actors" in terms of identity and talent.

In addition, there are alternative cartoons " drifting " from the "Un Certain Regard" section, and "Cat Demon Xiaoxing" from the Directors' Fortnight section, both of which are very popular new films in Cannes this year. The French female film "Nikki", the absurd comedy "Plastic Gun" and the Chilean installation art film "The Norse" also have good reputations.

Movie fans see the world

Not only Cannes a month ago, Berlin earlier this year and Venice in the second half of last year, as well as shortlisted and award-winning films from Sundance and other film festivals, they can also be seen on the screen in Shanghai. In addition, there are special units such as "One Belt and One Road", Focus on Germany, and Science Fiction Film Week, which prepare new films of different types and cultural backgrounds for a broad audience. Of course, those classics and masterpieces that have long been engraved in the history of film are also the most popular "treasures" of the Shanghai Film Festival every year. With the help of the latest 4k restoration technology in recent years, film films like "Shadow Army" from more than half a century ago, It can be presented to the Chinese audience in the clearest possible state. In the "Homage to the Masters" section, the works of the famous Japanese film director Yasuzo Masumura, the famous French writer Duras, and the legendary Czech animation master Jan Svanmayer will be screened.

Since the Shanghai International Film Festival officially announced these film lists and schedules, eagerly awaited movie fans have set their alarm clocks early for fear that they will not be fast enough for popular scenes. Tickets opened at 12:00 noon on June 7, and half of the 14 Golden Goblet Award main competition films were sold out in seconds... According to the one-hour ticket sales report released by Taopiao Piao, 36 films and 200 screenings were sold out in 10 minutes after the sales started. exhausted. Among them, the 10 films that sold out the fastest include the first-ever documentary "The Sinking of Lisbon Maru", the popular new Japanese comic movie "Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram", and the most popular films that are suitable for Experience "Queen Live in Montreal" on the big screen (imax/4k), etc.

As a screening film in the Premiere Ceremony section, "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" held its world premiere at Shanghai Cinemas on the morning of the 14th, kicking off the Shanghai International Film Festival. A "Global Times" reporter saw a crowd outside the screening hall at the scene. Movie lovers of different ages gathered in the lobby on the first floor of the cinema, and there were long lines at some movie information service points.

The Shanghai International Film Festival’s appeal is not limited to Shanghai. Judging from the distribution of ticket-buying crowds, 29.3% of the tickets were bought by moviegoers from other places—not just the Yangtze River Delta region, but moviegoers from Beijing and Guangdong also came from afar. In terms of the age of ticket-buying users, young movie fans are still the main force: users aged 18-24 account for 33%, and users aged 25-29 account for 30%. Of course, the Shanghai International Film Festival has not forgotten those old movie fans. One hour after online ticket sales, 47 theaters in the city started offline ticket sales. There was a familiar queue at the entrance of the theater. Many "uncles" who are familiar with old movies With the help of the staff and volunteers, the "aunt" also bought the movie she wanted. Some foreign movie fans in Shanghai also caught up with this movie feast. A movie fan from Russia "picked up the missing movie" at the Shanghai Cinema. Dahl's masterpiece "Breathless" (4k restored version).