More from Mathew Scott
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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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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China’s Leading Lights Look to Shine Across the Shanghai Film Fest’s Main Competitions
The promise from organizers of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival is for a mix of the “old and the new” and to that end this year’s program offers a look at emerging contemporary filmmakers as well as movies that chart a course from the local industry’s development in the early 1900s through to today. […]
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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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Chinese Animation Looks to Expand Its Global Reach at Annecy
The Chinese film industry has made no secret of the fact that it hopes the success of last year’s Chang’an will herald a new era for the country’s animation studios. It’s certainly a theory that is playing out front and center inside the China Film Pavilion at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Run […]
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India, Back in the Palme d’Or Hunt After 30 Years, Hopes Cannes Will Help Producers See the Light
India is ending its decades-long absence from the Palme d’Or this year with Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light lining up against the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis for the major prize of the Cannes Film Festival. Kapadia’s feature – which follows two nurses on a road trip […]
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China Film Pavilion Returns to Cannes With Sights Set on Future Partnerships
China officially arrives back at Cannes this year intent on showcasing its hits, while promoting the opportunities for international collaborations the country’s film industry leaders are increasingly keen to explore. There are more than 60 film companies from the nation involved at the China Film Pavilion — situated at the Palais des Festivals et des […]
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