The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival launched Saturday at the city’s Grand Theatre, drawing a constellation of Chinese-language stars to its opening red carpet and centering its ceremony on cinema’s human core rather than the geopolitical flash that has marked other festivals this year.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who serves as jury president of the Golden Goblet competition, appeared on the red carpet alongside his wife Carina Lau and fellow jurors Dora Bouchoucha, Guan Hu, Aktan Arym Kubat, Déa Kulumbegashvili, Fernanda Valadez, and Xin Zhilei.
“I have acted in many movies and played many different roles, but cinema remains just as fascinating to me,” Leung said. “Through different characters, experiencing different lives and different stories.”
The ceremony’s standout moment came with the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Lisa Lu, the “Crazy Rich Asians” actor who has already passed her 100th birthday by the Chinese calendar. She was introduced by fellow cinema legend Joan Chen, who recalled how Lu had gifted her dresses for red carpet appearances when Chen was first breaking into Hollywood. Lu arrived flanked by director Sherwood Hu and her two daughters, Lucia Hwong and Lorette Hwong.
“Shanghai is my hometown, and it is also where my artistic journey began,” Lu said from the stage. “Looking at so many outstanding filmmakers present here today, if there is an opportunity in the future, please get in touch with me! I have not retired. I will continue to act!”
Veteran Fifth Generation filmmaker Zhang Yimou received an outstanding contribution to Chinese cinema award.
The ceremony opened with a performer hoisted on a robotic arm interacting with projections of environments drawn from international and Chinese films, setting the tone for a festival that is leaning into artificial intelligence while insisting on cinema’s irreducible humanity. Shanghai vice mayor Lu Shan, who officially declared the festival open, made that tension explicit.
“We all have to answer a question: On what basis is cinema irreplaceable?” Lu said. “From film reels to digital cinema, from live-action shooting to AI generation, the language of technology is constantly upgrading. However, the fundamentals of cinema have not changed. Humanity is always the core of creation.”
Among the new tech initiatives is an AI Backlot section developed with Hailuo AI, pairing four traditional directors with four AI creators to produce short films, alongside a Tech Creation and Fabrication Unit featuring interactive virtual reality exhibitions.
Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh walked the carpet with the cast of her new project “This Is My Time” – directed by Bai Xue and produced by Muye Wen – alongside Liu Haoran, Bai Ke, Rina Sa, and Tian Yu. Bona Film Group CEO Yu Dong brought two productions tied to Hong Kong director Andrew Lau: “Crossing,” starring Liu Ye, Wang Zhifei, David Wang, Zhang Li, Li Chen, Cao Bingkun, and Wang Tianchen; and “Kashmir Princess,” with Chen Kun and Gao Yuanyuan.
The opening night film was “Afterpiece,” directed by Keane T.K. Wong and produced by Derek Yee, led by Stephen Fung and Myolie Wu.
Director Dong Runnian and producer Ying Luojia also brought the cast of “Make Zhonghe Great Again” – the August-slated sequel to “Johnny Keep Walking!” – to the carpet, including Zhang Ruoyun, Bai Ke, Gao Ye, Sun Yizhou, David Wang, Li Chen, and Tian Yu.
The festival’s main program spans 420 films, including 41 world premieres across its competition sections – all entries in the Golden Goblet Awards competition and documentary units are world premieres. Sidebars range from retrospectives on Billy Wilder and Ken Loach to an Egyptian Film Week and a program marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. Three animations are also set for summer release: Light Chaser Animation’s “Three Kingdoms: The Beginning,” “All Wishes Come True!,” and “Demon Agent.”
On the youth development front, the festival is expanding its SIFF ING mobile filmmaking camp and opening SIFF NEXT incubation workshops to the public. Leung and Singapore director Anthony Chen will lead masterclasses for emerging filmmakers.
The festival plays through June 22.