Shanghai International Film Festival
Rising Taiwanese Editing Studio Cutting Edge Films Keeps the Festival Hits Coming
What did five of the most critically acclaimed Asian movies that premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival have in common? They all were edited by rising Taiwanese studio Cutting Edge Films. Formally established only in 2022, the company comprises a small group of film professionals who have worked together for over a decade. They […]
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Yao Chen on the Search for Chinese Talent in Shanghai and the Bond She’s Formed with the UFC’s Zhang Weili
Officially, Yao Chen was a part of the team judging the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival’s Projects initiative for in-development productions, but the actress-producer freely admits she came to town keen — as ever — to take on as many roles as possible. Yao was also actively seeking out production opportunities for her Bad Rabbit Pictures, […]
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Cameron Bailey Talks Toronto Film Fest’s Grand Market Plans, Rekindling China Connections
While the Toronto International Film Festival was making headlines this week for its most immediate plans, the event’s CEO Cameron Bailey was 7,000 miles away and looking a little bit further into the future. This year’s TIFF has announced the first batch of highlights for its September 5-15 edition, including world premieres for the documentary […]
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Shanghai Film Festival: Kazakh Drama ‘The Divorce’ Takes Top Prize
The 26th Shanghai International Film Festival came to a glitzy conclusion Saturday as Kazakh film The Divorce, directed by Daniyar Salamat, took home the top Golden Goblet award for best feature at a star-studded closing ceremony in the Chinese commercial capital. A period drama set in the 1920s during the establishment of Soviet authority on the Kazakh steppe, […]
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Shanghai: Zeng Zi’s ‘Friday, Funfair’ Wins Asian New Talents Top Prize
Chinese drama Friday, Funfair, directed by Zeng Zi, was named best film of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talent section, which honors distinguished works by emerging filmmakers from across the Asia-Pacific region. The film is in tune with a recent trend in Chinese cinema of tackling the pressures and hardships women face […]
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Shanghai: Buoyed by Cannes Success, Indian Films Continue to Shine in China
The 461-film lineup for the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival spans the globe, but movies from India stood out this year, led by Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light, tickets for which were sold out in a matter of minutes. Shanghai’s India Film Week sidebar features four recent releases from […]
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Imax Expands Partnership With China’s Wanda Film
Imax Corporation and Wanda Film, China’s largest movie exhibitor, are deepening their longstanding partnership with a new deal to upgrade technology and collaborate on future events and experiences. Wanda Film is already Imax’s biggest exhibition partner in the world, with 381 Imax locations in operation across China — and another 19 already on the way. The deal […]
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Shanghai: CMC Pictures to Release Chen Sicheng’s Spy Thriller Tentpole ‘Decoded’ in U.S., U.K. (Exclusive)
Chinese distributor CMC Pictures has taken the worldwide rights — excluding China — to local hitmaker Chen Sicheng’s much-anticipated next feature, Decoded. The company says it will release the film theatrically in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and other major international markets later this year following its Chinese bow, expected in the second half […]
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How Wanda Film’s First Female CEO Is Charting a Fresh Course for the Chinese Exhibition Giant
Chen Zhixi is now five months into her role as chairperson and president at Wanda Film. Taking the role was a move that made Chen one of the few women at the top of the traditionally male-dominated Chinese film business — and, at 42, one of its youngest and most powerful leaders. Based out of […]
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Shanghai: Director Rolf de Heer on Joining Competition Jury, Seeking “New Worlds to Explore” in Cinema
Multi-award-winning Dutch-Australian director Rolf de Heer’s films expand creative horizons in the ways he deals with character, narrative and dialogue. Heads were turned with the Venice Grand Jury Prize-winner Bad Boy Bubby (1993), the story of a 35-year-old man-child who, after being locked away his entire life by his mother, escapes into a “real” world […]
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Shanghai Film Festival: 5 Chinese Movies Not to Miss
Less than a decade ago, the Shanghai International Film Festival was the preeminent annual hotspot for Hollywood and European dealmakers determined to forge alliances and carve out a foothold in China’s then-booming commercial film sector. In the post-pandemic era, however, as the Chinese industry continues to mature and the Hollywood hype over the country’s market […]
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Shanghai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Competition Lineup
The Shanghai International Film Festival unveiled the competition selection for its upcoming 26th edition Wednesday, featuring a lineup characteristically heavy on Chinese titles. As in recent years, the lineup also includes a bevy of European, Japanese and Central Asian movies, but not a single film from the U.S. or South Korea. The most anticipated film […]
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