See some classic screenings at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Founded in 1993, the SIFF is an A-category film festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. Last year the festival saw the biggest box-office in its 19 years of existence, basking in the international spotlight with an assortment of A-list celebrities bestowing their glory upon the festival. This year hundreds of films battle it out for the Golden Goblet Awards overseen by a panel of judges led by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
The festival is also a blessing for movie fans, bringing back more than 900 international classics to the big screen at cinemas across the city.
Here's the lineup for Shanghai International Film Festival 2017.
Milestone cinema masterpieces back on screen
Battleship Potemkin
The SIFF Classics screening list presents four films considered to be significant milestones in the history of film, and that have had an enormous impact on filmmakers thereafter in aspects of film aesthetics.
Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein, the 'father of montage' famous for iconic scenes like Rocky’s training and the life story in Pixar's Up.
Caravaggio by British director Derek Jarman, the film uses a creative shooting technique combining oil paintings and images.
Destiny by German expressionist master Fritz Lang.
Tokyo Drifter by Japanese director Seijun Suzuki – who reformed the film noir style.
4K Restoration of Movie Classics
The Fifth Element
As part of the film festival's '4K Restoration Programme', SIFF revives 'heavyweight' classics using high-tech restoration. This year's programme includes screenings of:
The Battle of Algiers, dir Gillo Pontecorvo (1966).
Manhattan, dir Woody Allen (1979).
The Tree of Wooden Clogs, dir Ermanno Olmi (1978).
Leon, dir Luc Besson (1994).
The Fifth Element, dir Luc Besson (1997).
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, dir Kenji Mizoguchi (1939).
Ugetsu, dir Kenji Mizoguchi (1953).
Tribute to Masters
Love is Colder than Death
SIFF shows its respect to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one of the 'Four Masters of New German Cinema'. His six classics Love is Colder than Death, Fear Eats the Soul, Fontane Effi Briest, Chinese Roulette, World on a Wire and Veronika Voss will be screened to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his death, a salute to a giant in the film industry. As a screenwriter, drama writer and actor, Fassbinder has produced more than 20 stage plays, radio plays and television series during his short film career of 14 years.
Another tribute is to French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville, commemorating the 100th birthday of the director. His movies Le Cercle Rouge, Léon Morin, Prêtre, Un Flic, Bob le Flambeur and Le Doulos have been restored (except Un Flic) and will be shown on the big screen. Melville's best known for his minimalism, coldness and violence, mostly inspired by American gangster and crime movies which gave birth to his unique style. He's also widely acclaimed as one of the forefathers of the New Wave Movement, the Godfather of French New Wave.
Japanese Movie Week
Dear Etranger
There will also be a Japanese Movie Week as part of the festival, with many of the films making their China debuts along with Daytime Shooting Star being screened internationally for the first time. The films being shown are:
Hirugao, dir Hiroshi Nishitani (2017).
Daytime Shooting Star, dir Takehiko Shinjo (2017).
Dear Etranger, dir Yukiko Mishima (2017).
Kanon, dir Toshiro Saiga (2016).
Her Love Boils Bathwater, dir Ryota Nakano (2016).
Battle of Supeme High, dir Akira Nagi (2017).
Death Note: Light up the New World, dir Shinsuke Sato (2016).
Sanada 10 Braves, dir Yuhiko Tsutsumi (2016).
Disney Classics
Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie
In collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures, the SIFF features ten highly-acclaimed cartoons:
Steamboat Willie (1928).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
Dumbo (1941).
Bambi (1942).
The Little Mermaid (1989).
Beauty and the Beast (1991).
Aladdin (1992).
The Lion King (1994).
Fantasia/2000 (1999).
Winnie the Pooh (2011).
Documentaries
Cameraperson
The SIFF Documentary Screening Unit will show five documentaries demonstrating several master filmmakers' life stories. The documentaries are:
Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)
Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach
The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger
76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Abbas Kiarostami
Blue Velvet Revisited (David Lynch)
Tickets are on sale at Taopiaopiao and at participating cinemas such as Shanghai Grand Theatre, SFC Shanghai Film Art Center and more. Here's the full screening schedule.
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