Every Shanghai International Film Festival will have the latest masterpieces from the world's film masters. "Famous Directors' New Works" is a screening unit that collects the latest works of film masters from all over the world and meets the audience's viewing needs in the first place. This year's "New Works by Famous Directors" unit has 6 works, namely:
Filipino film master Ralph Diaz's "A History of Violence in the Philippines"; Belgian film master Darne Brothers' "Tori and Rochita"; French film master Philippe Garrel's "The Big Dipper"; Japan "A Chrysanthemum of the World" by the famous director Junji Sakamoto; "Kong Xiu" by the famous Chinese director Wang Chao; "My Crime" by the French film master Ou Rong, the following are their introductions:
Highlights: 7-hour movie viewing challenge
In the Philippines in the 1970s under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, a family of manor owners ushered in the inevitable curtain of time amidst the violence. This nearly 7-hour black-and-white video epic uses the loss of a family to symbolize the endless cycle of power struggles and people's sacrifices in the Philippines since the colonial period, and it also has many satires on the country's current political situation that is still full of violence. Filipino film master Ralph Diaz, who won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for "The Woman Who Left", retained his iconic fixed long lens, natural sound and exquisite composition of photography in this film, and was recognized by the audience. The media praised it as "Dostoevsky-style video writing".
Highlights: Sisterhood beyond bloodlines
In order to obtain a legal document to live in Belgium, a Cameroonian girl Rochita falsely claimed that she was the sister of a Benin boy Tori. The two supported each other in a foreign country, but they were caught in the whirlpool of the drug trade. This film continues the theme of immigration status and survival plight that the Belgian film master Darne Brothers is good at telling, and sends a soul torture to the European immigration reception mechanism. The whole film uses less than 100 shots, presenting a thrilling story that is more dramatic than Darney's previous works. The smooth editing and precise scheduling give the film the temperament of a crime film, and the simple performances of the actors who debuted on the big screen are a lot of points. Won the 2022 Cannes Film Festival "Cannes 75th Anniversary" commemorative award.
What to watch: A family of four molded the Berlin Silver Bear
A family running a traditional puppet theater in Paris has always adhered to their artistic stance, but the successive deaths of their father and grandmother made the younger generation think about where they should go. This family sketch is inspired by the true story of French film master Philippe Garrel's father, and the director's three children share the stage with wonderful performances. The narrative of the film is calm but warm and humorous, dispelling the depression brought about by the theme of death, and the emotional fetters of the three generations also reflect the changes in the background of French society and culture from a micro level. Won the Silver Bear Award for Best Director at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.
What to watch: A comedy of the common people that blooms with the brilliance of humanity
Junji Sakamoto's "Danchi" won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actress at the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival. This time, what he brought to fans in Shanghai is this new work that was just released in Japan in April. This film takes the longhouse slums at the end of the Edo period as the stage, and describes the love between two young excrement workers and a down-and-out samurai lady. Black and white tones, college format, chapter narrative, in this tumultuous era, the director returns to classics with a radical attitude, uses his best form of comedy to write about the lives of ordinary people at the bottom, and constantly taps the brilliance of human nature. Kuroki Hana, who won the Best Actress Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Best Supporting Actress Award from the Japan Film Academy three times, perfectly interpreted the heroine Akiku after she lost her voice with silent acting skills, and once again contributed an outstanding performance.
What to Watch: How Writers Are Made
The latest work of the famous director Wang Chao, who has been shortlisted and awarded at the Cannes Film Festival for many times with films such as "Summer in Jiangcheng" and "Fantasia". The film follows the two marriages of a printing and dyeing factory worker named Kong Xiu, and her nourishment in literature to become a writer while raising her children. The film adopts a realistic approach to show the pain brought by the "Ma Bao Boy" and "Domestic Violent Boy" to the heroine in a daily way, and quietly creates a female image with a weak appearance but a strong heart. Won the Best Screenplay Award in the Main Competition Unit of the 2022 San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the Eurasia International Film Festival.
What to watch: A tribute to the golden age of cinema
The latest comedy work of French film master Francois Ozon is also the last of his "Women's Trilogy" ("Eight Beauties" and "Vase"), adapted from French playwrights Georges Bell and Louis Verneuil's play of the same name. The background of the story is set in the 1930s. The poor actor Madeleine was accused of murder. With the help of her friends, she successfully overturned the case and became a famous actress. Ou Rong uses the expression technique of a classic silent film play within a play, and knocks on the absurd moment easily and slightly nonsensically: the "bad guy" becomes a good guy because of a lie, bringing a victory for the resolute sisters. "Aunt Yu" Isabelle Huppert, based on the world-renowned actress Sarah Bernhardt, plays a key figure in this film who is like a "soldier from heaven".
Welcome to continue to pay attention to us, and grasp the blockbuster list of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2023 as soon as possible. Ticket sales for this year's film festival will begin at 12:00 noon on June 2 on the Tao Piao Piao platform.
Note: In case of any changes in the film list, please refer to the actual schedule.
