Shanghai Film Festival Award Winners, Rocking Asian Cinema Right Now – The Hollywood Reporter

Simply based on the awards presented, the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival delivered on its promise to honor the emerging stars of both Asian and Chinese cinema.

There are Golden Cup wins for established markets of Japan and China, and lesser known markets, including Uzbekistan. And there were some scene-stealing emotions shared on stage at the Shanghai Opera House, including the moment two of China’s biggest stars, Hu Ge and Da Peng, were jointly awarded the leading actor award. film festival’s best and then share their lasting memories. lasting friendship.

Japanese director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri is no doubt excited about the occasion, as China’s major festival event marks the return to normalcy — and the return of international guests — following travel restrictions. and all sorts of global pandemic uncertainties.

by Kumakiri yoko received the festival’s Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best Screenplay awards in the Golden Globes main competition on Saturday night. The judges applauded a “special film” that tells the story of a middle-aged woman (played by Oscar-nominated Rinko Kikuchi). Babel famous) whose father’s death forced her to interact with people, after two decades of social isolation.

“Kikuchi and I have been thinking about working together for about 20 years,” said Kumakiri. “Today, the wish came true, and here we are right now. It’s so unrealistic – it’s like we’re in a dream.”

Overall, SIFF selected 53 films from around the world to compete in the five main Golden Cup categories — main competition, Asian new talent, documentary, animation and short film — and By the time the curtain closed on Sunday, there were more than 450 films in attendance. Films are shown during the 10 days of the festival. The festival also saw crowds return — apparently more than 300,000 tickets were purchased within an hour of going on sale online — and fans flocked to catch a glimpse of the A-list stars. international including Michelle Yeoh, Jason Stratham, Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi.

Take a close look at the show and you’ll notice two markets conspicuous in their absence — the US and South Korea — as fractured diplomatic relations continue to cloud events in China. But organizers in Shanghai have stepped away from pointing out the connections the festival has attempted to make in much of the global film community present. And among the smaller Asian markets represented this year is Laos, with horror signaland Uzbekistan, won the Asian New Talent section with the domestic drama Sunday — a surprise that literally left director Shokir Kholikov speechless.

Wenquan He, general manager of Shanghai International Film and Television Event Center, said: “SIFF has created a timely stage for the industry to unleash its development capacity and for filmmakers and filmmakers alike. organizations announce the latest achievements. “The core driving force for the development of the Shanghai International Film Festival lies in the fact that the metropolis has always stood at the heart of innovation and development, always respecting the urban ethos of ‘openness, innovation and integrate’ and reflect the spirit of the city. It always tries to be a window for China to connect the world.”

China’s Liu Jiayin Named Best Director all ears, about a eulogy writer whose work changed his outlook on life and marked his return to the director’s chair after more than a decade of teaching screenwriting. The director says it is a very personal film and one that has helped change the way she sees her own life.

There was high praise from the judges. “This film deals with current issues in modern times and takes our emotions to faraway places. The natural acting of all the actors is a testament to the extraordinary ability of the director,” they said.

all ears is all about one man’s personal journey — and when that man is played by Hu Jintao, there’s always an uproar (the 40-year-old star has around 70 million social media followers) . When he accepted the award for best actor, Hu stole the show again — but he was quick to share it and the award with Da Peng, who in turn starred in the horror film. dust to dust saw the festival decide to split the best actor award to the couple.

Cue shared memories on stage when they met, a rising star (Hu) and a young journalist wanting to act (Da Peng). Social media in China has been enjoying the moment ever since.

“We met in 2005,” Hu explained. “And together we climbed a snow-covered mountain. So does the artistic path and snow climbing — we never know when we’ll get to the top — but it’s worth the trip.”

Da Peng, known for his comedies as well as dramas, arrived in Shanghai with double bills of his own. Directed by Jonathan Li dust to dust is racing for major awards while Da Peng’s latest effort as a director, the street dance-themed comedy One and only, officially closed the festival. And once again it shows his commercial savvy, with former boy band star Vuong Nhat Bac playing box office veteran Hoang Bo.

dust to dust attracted the talent of Lee Hong Kong for his second film — he was noted for his previous work as an assistant director on films such as Infernalism IIIpart of Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning inspirational series The departed — and it also exploits a notorious 1995 robbery in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong because of its story.

SIFF shows that the commercial quality of Hong Kong filmmakers continues to be exploited for mainly Mainland Chinese blockbusters. It’s a trend that won’t end anytime soon; and veteran Herman Yau used SIFF to showcase their latest horror film Moscow delegation at a festival party event, even though it was not shown. by yau Moscow delegation also explores a true crime story that has captivated China — this time a violent trans-Siberian train robbery from 1993 — and features Andy Lau and Zhang Hanyu.

The international filmmakers who helped get Shanghai back to normal spoke to the enthusiasm of fans who attended the Q&A sessions after the screening and of the film festival in general, with the 91-year-old director who Japan Yoji Yamada — returning to Shanghai after a 20-year hiatus with family tragedy Mom, Is It Mom? as part of the main competition – said he was impressed by how the festival had become “more mature and more atmospheric”.

There is a MasterClass series that aims to provide insights into the filmmaking process, as well as inspire prospects in the Chinese film industry. Veteran filmmakers Peter Chan, Ildikó Enyedi, Zhang Lu and Sho Miyake spoke in packed rooms.

SIFF also hosts Science Fiction Film Week, which seeks to tap into the genre’s growth, which, despite being a relatively new phenomenon in China, has seen the series as the most successful this year. increased to more than $1.3 billion in total ticket sales after the release event Wandering Earth 2 in January. There are seminars on topics such as “Science Fiction: An All-Human Perspective and Chinese Stories,” and festival-goers are given a chance to think about the possibilities ahead as speakers The panel seemed to share the prediction that “sci-fi with Chinese characteristics” would lead the genre towards a brave new world of cinema.