The 27th Shanghai International Film Festival cast a net wide for the winners of this year’s Golden Goblet prizes, with filmmakers from as far afield as Kyrgyzstan and Portugal being called to the stage to accept awards during a glittering closing ceremony inside the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
Golden Goblet jury president Giuseppe Tornatore — whose Oscar winner Cinema Paradiso remains a love letter to moviegoing — was quick to salute the event’s global mix. “Each competition film was unique … and magnificent,” he said.
The top honor went to Black Red Yellow, Kyrgyz filmmaker Aktan Arym Kubat’s simmering rural meditation on marriage, praised by the jury for “reflecting the fabric of life.”
The Jury Grand Prix was shared between Japanese director Shinya Tamada’s On Summer Sand, a languid tale of a broken man, played by heartthrob Joe Odigiri, who rediscovers hope when his niece arrives for an extended stay, and Chinese director Wang Tong’s stylish and inventive thriller Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts. The jury hailed Wang’s debut as the “arrival of an important voice” in Chinese cinema.
The smart money was on veteran star Jose Martins for best actor, and he duly delivered. His performance in the Portuguese-Brazil co-production The Scent of Things Remembered (directed by Antonio Ferreira), playing an aging racist haunted by his war experiences, is one for the ages.
Tornatore proved an inspired choice for jury head, given screenings for Cinema Paradiso were among the 600 (out of 1,500 on offer in total) festival organizers claimed were sold out within an hour of sales opening. The Italian helped open SIFF by saying he hoped that the films he’d see would “really surprise and enchant” him; and he helped bring things to a close with a master class chaired by veteran festival head Marco Mueller, urging the young film fans who packed the event to “watch more movies — in cinemas.”
Domestic titles also delivered in Shanghai this year: veteran Cao Baoping nabbed best director for his high‑octane comedy One Wacky Summer, while rising auteur Qiu Sheng earned the artistic achievement trophy for his AI‑themed drama My Father’s Son.
In the Asia New Talent section, newcomer Bian Zhou prevailed with sweeping historical epic As the Water Flows, a favorite of local critics.
Outside the main competition, there was an impressive contingent in town from Europe this year — perhaps sensing opportunity amid the ongoing decoupling of Hollywood and China.
Germany led the way, with two strong productions in the main competition: Julia Roesler’s Luisa, a moving, delicate portrayal of disabled life, and the wonderful German-Swiss co-production You Believe in Angels, Mr Drowak?, Nicolas Steiner’s stylish — and often hilarious — trip into the surreal that’s sure to reach a global audience. There were also four buzzy side‑bar titles from Germany: Tim Ellrich’s family exposé In My Parents’ House; Death Will Come from Christoph Hochhäusler; Sergej van Herter’s Attractions; and Norbert Lechner’s The Secret Floor.
In terms of the festival’s role as a platform through which the world can take a peek at the trends shaping cinema in both China and Asia, it was impossible to escape the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and what it promises.
Opening night featured a montage splicing AI‑generated imagery into classics — E.T. even brushed against the tech. The show‑stopper of the fest, however, was the “Kung Fu Movie Heritage Project: 100 Classics AI Revitalization,” which aims to leverage AI tools to reimagine the films that made Bruce Lee, Chan and Jet Li global icons.
“We hope that through the research of this topic and the implementation of the planned project, we can promote the construction of a new Chinese action film and television ecology with the characteristics of the times,” said Hu Min, director of the China Film Foundation, a partner on the project.
The takeaway: while Hollywood still debates AI’s hows and what‑ifs, China’s film industry is racing ahead with the technology.
While world cinema shared the stage at the awards gala on Saturday night, the noise being generated coming into China’s largest festival had been that organizers this year had been tasked with expanding its reach across the city that hosts it — no small task given Shanghai spans around 2,448.1 square miles and is home to an estimated 25 million people.
The festival screened some 400 titles in 40 cinemas and expanded to five neighboring cities, including Hangzhou and Nanjing. Under the so‑called “ticket‑stub economy,” stubs could be exchanged for limited‑edition coffee cups, souvenirs, discounted meals and even museum tours and river cruises.
But it all came back to the movies, and SIFF amped up its guest visits in an effort to further connect with the audience. One day saw Peter Chan zooming around to six separate screenings of his festival opener She’s Got No Name, which also had a simultaneous release on 120 non-SIFF screens in the metropolis. “When cinema in China started, Shanghai was the hub,” said Chan, who’s latest film is set in the city of the 1940s. “The feeling you get here now is that’s what’s happening again.”