The "Film Festival Highlights" unit, founded in 2019, has become one of the most popular signature programs of the Shanghai International Film Festival. This unit brings together the latest award-winning or selected films from major film festivals around the world in the past year, allowing audiences to appreciate a group of top-level masterpieces and appreciate the latest trends in world cinema. Today, we will introduce the second batch of films in this unit, which are:

"Inherited" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the San Sebastian International Film Festival; "Past Life" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Berlin International Film Festival; "The Promised Land" won the Kim Ji-seok Award at the Busan International Film Festival; "Top of Human 3" won the Open Film Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival; "The Villain" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Venice International Film Festival; "Animal Kingdom" was selected as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard unit of the Cannes Film Festival.

Inheritance (2023)

The Successor

Xavier Legrand

Highlights:

An unsolved mystery at a funeral

After receiving the news of his father's unexpected death, Ellis, a new favorite designer in the Paris fashion world, had to return to his hometown of Quebec, Canada to deal with the funeral, but he accidentally discovered the dark secret hidden by his father. A mourning full of grief suddenly turned into an unsolved mystery with a suspenseful color. Xavier Legrand, a director who was an actor, won the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival for his first feature film "Guardianship". In this new film, he once again uses the method of a thriller to present the subtle and unpredictable emotional changes between family kinship relationships. It was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Past Life (2023)

Past Lives

Celine Song

Highlights:

Timeless and personal writing by Asian female directors; Best romance films of 2023

How will a love that has lasted from childhood be related to the karma of the previous life? How will a cross-border love across the Eastern and Western hemispheres make people reflect on their own identity? In New York, the birthplace of classic love songs such as "Manhattan" and "The Age of Innocence", Korean-Canadian director Celine Song explores eternal themes such as fate, loss, nostalgia and immigrant identity in 2023. Greta Lee and Liu Taiwu were nominated for the Best Lead Actor in the American Independent Spirit Award for their delicate performances, and Celine Song was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars for her timeless writing. The film was also shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival.

The Promised Land (2023)

Paradise

Prasanna Vithanage

Highlights:

The social situation in Sri Lanka under the economic crisis

An Indian couple travels to Sri Lanka for vacation. This once picturesque tourist destination is now in the midst of an economic crisis with undercurrents. One night, the two were robbed by a knife-wielding gangster. The subsequent series of experiences put their relationship to a severe test. When the country was in chaos and the people were suffering, Sri Lankan veteran director Puransana Vitanaki, who was shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Award competition unit of the 3rd Shanghai International Film Festival with "Souls in the Night", faced the social reality with great courage and responsibility, and made this satirical and sharp masterpiece full of rich topics such as politics, economy, religion, and gender. It won the Kim Ji-seok Award at the Busan International Film Festival. This is not only a dialogue between him and society, but also a self-examination and analysis of his 30-year marriage life.

Top Human 3 (2023)

The Human Surge 3

Eduardo Williams

Highlights:

360-degree fisheye lens creates a new imaging space

After the talented Eduardo Williams won the Golden Leopard Award in the Contemporary Filmmaker Unit of the Locarno International Film Festival for his first feature film, Top of the Man, the sequel Top of the Man 3 won the Open Film Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The playful idea of jumping directly to the third part without the second part is like the images of this experimental new work jumping arbitrarily in different parts of the world. The whole film boldly uses a fisheye lens to follow a group of young people walking through the jungle and the countryside. The ground under their feet spreads and rises, and the sky above their heads is immediately swallowed up. They chat and revel in a brand new time and space. The director did not shoot a movie, but created a kind of movie, inviting the audience to join in with a unique feast of images.

Villain (2023)

Bastarden

Nikolaj Arcel

Highlights:

"Hannibal" becomes a pioneer and plants potatoes

Danish director Nicolai Arce won the Best Screenplay Award at the Berlin Film Festival for his costume court biography "A Royal Romance". Ten years later, he teamed up with his fellow countryman Mads Mikkelsen, one of the leading actors in the film, to create another exquisite costume drama. Mads Mikkelsen, the "sexiest man in Denmark" and the elegant cannibal "Hannibal", travels back to the 18th century in this film and transforms into Ludwig Kahlen, a soldier of humble origins, who is going to conquer and develop the wild land in pursuit of wealth and honor. The film was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the 80th Venice Film Festival, and "Uncle Hannibal" won the European Film Award for Best Actor for his wonderful interpretation of the protagonist's legendary life with ups and downs.

Animal Kingdom (2023)

The Animal Kingdom

Thomas Cailley

Highlights:

A fantasy world where mysterious viruses are rampant and half-human, half-beasts run rampant

The spread of an unknown virus causes the infected to mutate into half-human, half-beast people. The helpless government forces the infected to control them. François and his son Emile follow his mutated wife all the way, and Emile also changes... Thomas Cayet transforms the traditional disaster film into a poetic fantasy fable, cleverly combining the father-son relationship with grand issues to create a unique anti-type masterpiece. The film was selected as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival and won five awards at the French César Awards for Best Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costumes, Original Music and Sound Effects. Paul Kircher, who won the Best Leading Performance Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, perfectly interprets the anxiety and confusion of adolescent boys in the film. His mature acting skills are amazing and he won the Golden Coconut Award for Best Actor at the Hainan International Film Festival.

Tickets for this year's film festival will go on sale on the Tao Piaopiao platform at 12 noon on June 7.

Note: If the film list changes, please refer to the actual schedule.