The 10th Shanghai International Film Festival opened at the
Shanghai Grand Theater on Saturday night, and its first order of
business was to bestow special awards on industry members who had
made significant contributions to Chinese cinema.
Actress Maggie Cheung walks
on the red carpet in Shanghai Grand Theater on Saturday night, June
16, 2007, before the opening ceremony of the 10th Shanghai
International Film Festival.
Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung, renowned local filmmaker Xie
Jin and 90-year-old film artist Zhang Ruifang received the honors
at the festival's grand opening.
Prior to the ceremony, nearly 300 domestic and foreign
celebrities walked the red carpet, including Cheung, Hollywood
sexpot Sharon Stone, actor Reggie Lee, acclaimed Japanese director
Yoji Yamada and South Korean icon Lee Jun-ki.
Cheung expressed gratitude to everyone who had worked on her
films - and even applauded those who don't like her movies.
"They have kept me moving to do better," she said.
During her acting career, Cheung has captured many international
prizes, including the best actress Silver Bear at the 1992 Berlin
Film Festival for Center Stage and the best actress honor
at Cannes for the French film Clean in 2004.
The other two artists also received huge applause at the opening
gala for their outstanding achievements in Chinese cinema.
This year 16 films are vying for the festival's top prize, the
Golden Goblet. Three Chinese offerings, The Go Master by
Tian Zhuangzhuang, Yin Li's The Knot, Hong Kong director
Yau Nai-hoi's Eye in the Sky, and a Sino-US co-production,
Shanghai Red by Oscar Costo, are among the nominees.
Mainland filmmaker Chen Kaige heads the seven-member jury panel,
which also includes Spanish director Fernando Trueba and Italian
actress Maria Cucinotta.
The police film Eye in the Sky was the festival's
opening offering.
Yesterday's Jin Jue International Film Forum featured the heads
of nine international film festivals, including representatives
from Tokyo and Venice, to exchange their experiences.
"Each film fest needs to find its own position and style to
match its culture and tradition," said Tsuguhiko Kadokawa,
president of the Tokyo International Film Festival. "Providing a
platform for young film talent is also our important mission."
Over the next few days, forum topics will include film
co-production, film marketing, the making of digital-video shorts
and new Asian films.
A Chinese film exhibition, a Japanese movie show and
retrospective screenings of the works of the late Italian film
master actor Marcello Mastroianni also kicked off yesterday.
Italian classics such as Divorce Italian Style and
8 1/2 as well a recent Japanese production, Love and
Honor, and the Chinese comedy romance The Longest Night in
Shanghai will be shown at 21 theaters across town as part of
the festival's panorama section.
Tomorrow, the festival will launch special showcases of
Brazilian and German films.
Festival ticket sales have topped five million yuan (US$658,000)
so far, a slight increase from the same period last year.
The festival will close at the Shanghai Grand Theater on
Sunday.
Renowned Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien will attend with his
Looking for the Red Balloon as the closing film. French
actress Juliette Binoche, who stars in the film, may also
attend.
From left: Actresses Chen
Hao from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong's Maggie Cheung, Hollywood
star Sharon Stone and the mainland's Gao Yuanyuan are among the
nearly 300 domestic and international celebrities that walked the
red carpet on Saturday night before the opening ceremony of the
10th Shanghai International Film Festival at the Grand
Theater.
(Shanghai Daily June 18, 2007)
