The twenty fifth Shanghai International Film Festival, June 9 to 18, has unveiled the titles in competition for awards in its 4 primary feature-length sections: primary competitors, Asian New Talent, Animation movie and documentary. These are eligible for the pageant’s prestigious Golden Goblet Awards, winners of which might be introduced on the Shanghai Grand Theater on the night of June 17.
While SIFF stays the one mainland China pageant to be accredited as a so-called A-list occasion by the International Federation of Film Producers (FIAPF), its picks are largely separate and distinct from these at different main worldwide festivals.
While the lineup contains 9 mainland Chinese titles, two from Hong Kong and 5 from Iran, there are, for example, no movies that hail from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Korea.
Feature Film Competition
“All Ears” Dir. Liu Jiayin (China)
“Dust To Dust” Dir. Jonathan Li (China)
“Good Autumn, Mommy” Dir. CHEN Shizhong (China)
“Joseph’s Son” Dir. Haobam Paban Kumar (India)
“Kindling” Dir. Connor O’Hara (U.Okay.)
“Mom, Is That You?!” Dir. Yôji Yamada (Japan)
“Muyeres” Dir. Marta Lallana (Spain)
“Nina” Dir. Oksana Bychkova (Russia-Georgia)
“The Annoyed” Dir. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi (Iran)
“The Chapel” Dir. Dominique Deruddere (Belgium)
“The First Day Of My Life” Dir. Paolo Genovese (Italy)
“Yoko” Dir. Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Japan)
Asian New Talent
“1.5 Horsepower” Dir. Rasool Kahani (Iran)
“Cause Of Death: Unknown” Dir. Ali Zarnegar (Iran)
“Day Dreaming” Dir. WANG Zichuan (China)
“Gone With The Boat” Dir. CHEN Xiaoyu (China)
“In Broad Daylight” Dir. Lawrence Kan (Hong Kong)
“Love, My Way” Dir. LIU Bing (China)
“May” Dir. LUO Dong (China)
“People Who Talk To Plushies Are Kind” Dir. Yurina Kaneko (Japan)
“Qash” Dir. Aisultan Seit (Kazakhstan)
“Sunday” Dir. Shokir Kholikov (Uzbekistan)
“The Signal” Dir. Lee Phongsavanh (Laos)
“Time Still Turns The Pages” Dir. Nick Cheuk (Hong Kong)
Animated Features
“Dolphin Boy” Dir. Mohammad Kheirandish (Iran-Türkiye)
“Four Souls Of Coyote” Dir. Áron Gauder (Hungary)
“Gonta: The Story Of The Two-Named Dog In The Fukushima Disaster” Dir. Akio Nishizawa (Japan)
“Master Zhong” Dirs. WANG Yuxi-HUANG Shanchuan (China)
“The Inseparables” Dir. Jérémie Degruson (Belgium-France-Spain)
Documentary Features
“Anxious In Beirut” Dir. Zakaria Jaber (Jordan-Lebanon-Qatar-Spain)
“Leap Of Faith” Dir. YANG Lina (China)
“Moses’ Spies” Dir. Itzik Lerner (Israel)
“The Caravan” Dir. Núria Clavero-Aitor Palacios (Spain-Mexico)
“The Passion Of Mahmoud” Dir. Davoud Abdolmaleki (Iran).