If you take a brief look outside the theater, beyond the glamor of the Shanghai International Film Festival opening ceremony on Saturday night, the nature of this year’s program revealed itself in the cast and crew gathered at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
First-time director Keane TK Wong had the psychological drama on hand Meta-theatrical Having been selected to open the mega event – which runs across the sprawling city until June 21 – and in the lead-up, the Hong Kong filmmaker was quick to praise the support for emerging talent in Chinese-language filmmaking, much of which was showcased at this year’s CIFF.
“My first reaction was surprise,” Wong said of the selection. “Being selected as the opening film for SIFF is a huge tribute to the film and a great honor for me personally. I am very grateful to everyone in front of and behind the camera.”
There were nods to veteran producer Derek Yee and the film’s stars Stephen Fung, Angela Yuen, Meoli Wu and Chrissy Chow, as well as the Hong Kong government’s director succession plan, which brought together Wong and Yee. “It’s this confidence in newcomers that made this film possible,” Wong said.
SIFF itself can point to a long list of its own initiatives this year as evidence that it is also looking to support the next generation of Chinese cinema – among them the SIFF ING program for young filmmakers, the SIFF NEXT Film Project boot camp and the SIFF YOUNG × Shanghai program to support young filmmakers, which counts industry veterans Guan Chen and Wen Mui as mentors and jurors, respectively.
Aside from the main competition, SIFF’s New Asian Talent competition has an impressive success rate when it comes to discovering the region’s rising stars – as head judge Anthony Chen pointed out before the festival, the expectation is that there are “real gems” to be found – and there has been buzz around the likes of Zhang Hanyi. The cassowary And Wan Po Strangers in the mountain (Both are from China).
“Talent development has become one of our distinct strengths,” explained Chen Ju, managing director of Shanghai International Film and Television Events Centre, the festival’s organizing body. “Through a comprehensive support system that includes industry programmes, professional awards and overseas screening opportunities, the CIF has helped cultivate a large number of Chinese-language filmmakers and films.”
In terms of its reach across the region, the International Film Festival notes the diversity of competition entries – across five sections – with films drawn from 34 countries and regions, including the first Moroccan film in the main competition in 27 years (Yassine Al-Idrissi’s film). Halima) and first for Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the New Asian Talents section (Zaid Abu Hamdan owl).
It is fairly telling that the festival’s main competition section does not feature any titles from filmmaking powerhouses such as the United States, Japan or South Korea this year. But Chen Guo points out that the main competitions and documentaries sections are “100 percent world premieres for the first time in the festival’s history.”
In terms of pure crowd-pulling attractions, Asia is, of course, the main focus, with a refreshing slate of Chinese cinema looking at the country’s contemporary scene. But SIFF is rolling out a selection of Cannes favorites, paying tribute to Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller Ken Loach, famed French animator Rene Laloux, Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe. It has the star power of Hong Kong’s Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Chinese director Guan Hu, and actress Shen Zhili on the main competition jury.
The festival is also tapping into the rise and impact of AI here and abroad, with a number of panels designed to explore topics such as “When will AI learn how to create, What creates cinema?”
“SIFF has always paid close attention to the intersection between art and technology,” said Chen Guo. “Today, the rapid development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence is opening up entirely new possibilities for cinematic expression and creative practice. Reflecting this trend, this year’s festival has a strong focus on the future of film and audiovisual technology.”
