Judging the influence of a film festival, in addition to the star-studded star directors, the number of premiere films is also an important indicator. Among the films exhibited at the Shanghai International Film Festival every year, Chinese premieres, Asian premieres and world premieres are a major highlight. The number of premieres this year reached a new high, with 99 world premieres and international premieres outside of the 297 premieres, allowing fans to take a head start and appreciate the new fashion of world cinema.
Among the various premieres that account for 60% of the films screened, there are a hard-to-find new works by world film masters, the latest award-winning films of major film festivals, and there are also rare and infamous masterpieces, waiting for discerning film fans to discover. The planning of official film festival units such as global village and multiple perspectives shows the audience the infinite scenery outside of Hollywood's vision, and also highlights the grand vision of the Shanghai International Film Festival to promote multicultural exchange, as well as the overall enhancement of international influence.
Famous directors gathered to meet the wishes of movie fans for the first time
The Chinese premiere and Asian premiere of the latest masterpieces by the famous directors have a strong appeal to film fans and can drive the popularity of film festivals. Attracting first-class directors to send the most energetic creations also injects confidence into the artistic exchange platform of the Shanghai International Film Festival, allowing more filmmakers to choose to "debut" from here, expanding popularity, and promoting the Shanghai International Film Festival to steadily improve the comprehensive level of the films screened in the array of international A-category film festivals.
"There are forgotten films, there are lost films, there are years after the dawn of time, and there are unfinished films, which are still in a state of uncertainty between fantasy and reality." The unfinished finale of the Greek poet director Theo Angelopoulos's "New Century Trilogy," "Another Ocean," is one such legend with a bumpy end. In 2012, he was hit by a street motorcycle late in the filming and died because the ambulance came too late. French female director Elodie Relu took over the mentor's posthumous work, inviting the actor Elena Jacob to recite a series of poetic nostalgia letters, intertwined with the footage taken by Angelopoulos and Angelopoulos's narration of the film, and finally completed "Letter to Theo" last year.
In Another Ocean, Angelopoulos fictionalizes the influx of immigrants into the port of Piraeus, and the footage of Elodie Relu has the same temperature as Angelopoulos, and the film itself is the product of grief and reflection, but brings the power of healing and understanding. In particular, after a huge fire in July last year burned all the manuscripts, letters, poems, books and film documents in Anzhe's former residence, the encounter with this film is more like a meeting with Anzhe. "Ever since I came to Greece, I've often felt this way, I've seen you on the street, as if you've just returned from a trip and continue to live in the city." These are the words that Raylu wrote in the film. Fans who watched the film at the film festival left the following words on the Internet: "On the other side of the sea, you have never left." ”
After winning the Palme d'Or in 2014 with the transformational work "Hibernation", the president of this year's jury and the famous Turkish director Ceylon, "Wild Pear Tree" has further matured his style, and the audience will feel a high-density "bombardment" of visual landscapes, philosophical depth and cultural imagery for more than three hours in the contrasting tones of Turkey's towns, villages and harbors.
Renowned Polish director Krzystów Zanusi will bring a new film, "Doctor Who," which was acclaimed at the Rome Film Festival. The film places a doctor's frantic experiments against the eve of World War I, deconstructing modernity from both scientific and philosophical dimensions in the metaphorical soundtrack of Wagner's opera Parsifal. For loyal audiences of European cinema, Zanusi's name is a symbol of high quality.
Seamlessly connecting Cannes, opening the film's reputation in China from Shanghai
Just this past May, the Lebanese film "How to Be Home" became a dark horse in the Chinese film market, earning nearly 400 million at the box office. Since it participated in the Cannes Film Festival last year, it has "airborne" the Shanghai International Film Festival for the first time, opening up the promotion path of fans' reputation and receiving great attention from the Cannes Film Festival. This year, more Cannes masterpieces are seamlessly linked to Shanghai, and "Zero Time Difference" will be recognized by Chinese audiences through the platform influence of the Shanghai International Film Festival.
British realist film master Ken Lodge was shortlisted for the main competition section of the Cannes Film Festival for the 14th time, "Sorry, We Missed You", which is his second masterpiece after "I Am Black". The film tells that in order to improve the living conditions of the family, Ricky is hired to become a self-financing courier driver, and under the high-pressure forced work, his family life is gradually swallowed up. Despite being 83 years old, Lodge's insights into current economic and social problems and continued attention to the British working class are still outdated. Almost every one of his works has become a hot topic of discussion in British society. The serious style, the naturalistic performance, in his series of films, pieced together a shocking critique of capitalism from the individual.
Also concerned with real-world issues is the film "The Lamp of Roubaix", which was shortlisted for the sixth time by French film master Arnold Deplerchahn in the main competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. Once France's bustling textile capital, Roubaix now has 45% of the population living below the poverty line. "Here, all the poor crimes are real." In the police's struggle against every real crime, Deppler uses hitchcock's classic black crime film to unfold the whole picture of a small town where social order has fallen. Roubaix's nighttime streets are filled with quiet images of the darkest corners of life. Under the calm and calm lens, there is the director's infinite worry about the future of his hometown.
The cannes film "Les Misérables", which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was filmed in Monfigue, Paris, where hugo's heroine Cosette grew up. Since the 19th century, the appearance of Meng Fei Has changed several times, and the government has built a large number of aid houses, but it is gradually occupied by gangs of immigrants and religious groups. In the form of a news documentary, the director filmed the vicious circle of violence between local police and gangs from winning the 2018 World Cup in France. Under the panoramic aerial view of the drone, the enthusiastic collective revelry coexists with the large-scale conflicts that erupt in France every few years, creating an excellent contrast between reality and classic texts.
Antonio Banderas and Emily Beechham, who have just finished at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor and Actress, also brought the award-winning works "Pain and Glory" and "Little Joe" respectively. The latter, in the psychedelic atmosphere and eerie soundtrack of Little Joe, pushes the undercurrent of horror to the extreme with an almost expressionless performance. The former starred in Almodóvar's autobiographical asana film, which also became the highlight of his acting career.
Discover the latest masterpieces and get a unique sense of participation in the early adopters
The poster of this year's Shanghai International Film Festival is themed "Creating Vientiane, Behind the Scenes is King", and the film can also be said to cover all countries. In the global village, kaleidoscope and other units, many premiere new films have not only not been released overseas, but even the gathering places of senior fans at home and abroad such as Douban Entry and Imdb are difficult to find relevant information, or even no entry has been established. The first to taste these "fresh fruits", even ahead of the mainstream audience in Europe and the United States, became the fun of participating in the Shanghai International Film Festival.
In addition to the poster and film introduction, fans are almost "unaware" of the premiere of the new film before stepping into the cinema, which not only makes the film festival a surprise journey, but also gives the audience a sense of independent judgment and participation in excavating masterpieces. In the first Asian country film series, the focus on Indonesia, Iran, Thailand, India and Japan Film Week have all become popular ticket grabbing hits. In the screening unit over the years, the European film festivals, which have gradually become classic brands, are also exciting this year and are worth looking forward to.
Italian cinema has always been favored by audiences with its beautiful scenery, beauty and imagination. This year's film list adds depth, allowing the audience to understand Italy's "past and present lives" through the film: "The First King" traces the legend of the Romulus brothers building the city of Rome, and creates a mythical and realistic epic in the misty swamp of the jungle; "10 Days Without a Mother", "Stage Mother and Child", "Bengal in Rome" focus on education, women, immigration and other issues in reality; "The Past of the Creator" in the context of future science fiction. Exploring the ultimate questions such as the origin of the universe and where human beings are going, the story is not boring, with stunning visual effects, wonderful soundtrack and camera movement to create a doomsday atmosphere, won several film festival technical awards, and is a must-see work for special effects enthusiasts.
Eight new films from German cinema, with a "reborn" interpretation of classic themes, made the audience shine. "Goldfish" focuses on the problem of the disabled with the black humor that German comedy excels at, but it begins with an absurd journey of the disabled "mutual aid smuggling". An actress with down syndrome in reality completely broke the audience's stereotype of the disabled with her wonderful and humorous performance in the film.
After starring in "The Reader", the famous German actress Caroline Heffers presented her directorial debut feature film. Crime-themed road movies featuring two women are uncommon, and some of the usual road movie routines produce unexpected comedic effects after gender reversals.
"Brasket" also depicts a retired journey of love under Kusturica's interpretation of Miki Manojlovich. German director Witt Helmer said that the film did not have a single line of dialogue, allowing the film to be presented in the "purest art form". After the film was released in Germany in March, it rushed to Shanghai without stopping; coincidentally, the azerbaijani town depicted in the film also happened to be called "Shanghai".
The topical works are unveiled together, showing a multicultural perspective
The beauty and acting skills of the French film "Goddess" simultaneously online at the Shanghai International Film Festival seem to have become a tradition loved by audiences. Adjani's classic masterpiece "Rodin's Lover", which was just released in France in April this year with a new 4K digital restoration version, chose the Shanghai International Film Festival as the international debut of the restored version outside France. Yuper's new film "Snow White" this year is filmed in the Mountains of the Alps, and she and Her stepdaughter, Lu de Lager, are even more charming in the fairyland scenery. From the perspective of women's liberation, the film's adaptation of classic fairy tales into contemporary fables is also "brain-opening".
In addition to the star-studded male and female stars on the screen, the joys and sorrows of all sentient beings are attracting more and more attention in the Chinese film market in recent years. From a multicultural perspective, the Shanghai International Film Festival has selected many works on overseas topics for collective appearance, allowing the audience to enjoy the customs and customs of overseas customs and customs, and also provide the "confrontation" of the latest thinking of the international community in the field of culture.
With terrorist attacks occurring frequently, how can we counter the dual threat of extremist organizations and ultra-nationalism? Salim, a second-generation Danish immigrant director, tells a story from 2025 in the film "Children of Denmark", which presents the hottest religious conflicts in Europe, immigration and the rise of the far right. Intense thrillers, societies succumbing to anger and fear, and individuals torn apart by two extreme ideas are all warnings to the viewer. The Slovak film "Cold Blade" begins with a real event and analyzes the problems that are prevalent in these European societies from another perspective.
"Street Boys" focuses on the teenage gangsters on the streets of Naples, a group of teenagers with nowhere to put their youth hormones, struggling with the inescapable status of life and the temptation of guns and money, and portraying the swinging struggle of their inner conscience unconventional. As the film's "piranha" is a wonderful metaphor, the teenagers thought they were strong enough to scramble and swim upwards, but they did not realize that they were caught in the vortex of death: in the cemetery of Naples, children who died in gang fights were buried everywhere. Also focusing on the "problem teenager", the Argentine film "Meandering Path" starts from tracing the "original family", telling the story of Mia, a young girl who was banned for using banned drugs in international sports events, how to find hope in her decadent life, eager to start over and return to the stage.
Author: Wu Yu
Editor: Wu Yu