The 15th Shanghai International Film Festival poster / source: siff.com

Following the 18th Shanghai TV Festival, which concluded last night, the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival is opening today with no less zeal from the public. Nearly 150,000 advanced movie tickets were sold in a single day on June 9 after sales began. Tickets for the Japanese films Key of Life (2012) and The Wings of the Kirin (2012), Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows (2012), and the Korean documentary I AM (2012) were sold out so quickly that Chinese labeled them “second kill” or miao sha, a Chinese neologism for extremely popular auction items online.

For Chinese moviegoers, who typically have limited viewing choices at movie theaters due to China’s film quota system, this year’s program offers a true feast on world cinema. The Panorama section alone includes more than 300 films from around the world. They will screen in 28 movie theaters in Shanghai. Along with the nominees of the Golden Goblet Awards and the Asian New Talent Awards, certain micro-budget films from the 2nd Mobile SIFF, which is a new component and a highlight of SIFF, have also been selected to screen during this time.

A staple of SIFF, SIFF Market will run from June 18 to 20 inside the Shanghai Exhibition Center. It is the ultimate meeting place for investors, producers, and distributors intent on doing business together. SIFF Project, on the other hand, combines the former China Film Pitch and Catch and the Co-production Film Pitch and Catch. It is now able to support much more ambitious film projects than before.

Last but not least, SIFFORUM is the venue for more serious movie-goers as well as the movers and shakers of the industry, some of which have been invited to lead discussions.

For example, the jury for the Golden Goblet Award will try to define movies with most international appeal. Mainstream Chinese directors, screenwriters, and producers will brainstorm ways for Chinese cinema to go global. Executives from Raleigh Entertainment, Shanghai Film Group, Wanda Cinema Line Corporation, and other industrial heavyweights will challenge the current Chinese film industry to standardize and upgrade. Seminars and master classes on branded entertainment, professional film-producing, and productive film criticism will be conducted as well.

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