Gratitude for our encounters, empowering new opportunities. On the evening of November 29, the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival hosted the "Partners' Night." Chen Guo, Director of the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Center, stated at the event that the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival and the 30th Shanghai Television Festival in 2025 will simultaneously launch a global call for submissions in December. There will be a comprehensive upgrade of five major brands, striving to present a more diverse and promising film and television festival while looking forward to more collaborative sparks ignited by industry partners from all sectors.
Gao Yunfei, Chairman of the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival Organizing Committee, attended the event and delivered a speech. He expressed that the Shanghai International Film Festival and the Shanghai Television Festival are two shining "golden business cards" of Shanghai's culture. He hopes that both new and old friends will embark on a journey from these festivals, navigating the seas in this city full of dreams and opportunities, and embracing new successes together.
The year 2025 marks the 130th anniversary of global cinema and the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema. To celebrate these significant milestones, the Shanghai International Film Festival will launch two special presentations: the first will feature a curated showcase of iconic works that have shaped the history of cinema in both the world and China. The “Tribute to Masters” section will honor French New Wave pioneer Agnès Varda, hosting the first major retrospective of her work at a domestic film festival, showcasing her creations through various phases; the second will focus on the wonderful interaction between literature and film. On the occasion of the 250th birthday anniversary of renowned British author Jane Austen, a selection of films adapted from her classic novels will be screened, alongside cross-border events titled “From Literature to Film,” promoting more filmmakers to draw inspiration from literary roots and reap their rewards.
In 2025, the Shanghai Television Festival will celebrate its 30th edition. Carrying the hopes and dreams of China's television professionals, the 30th Shanghai Television Festival will preserve its essence and reflect on over thirty years of the festival's contribution to the prosperity of China's television industry while looking ahead to embrace a new cultural mission in the new era, advocating for a “new mainstream,” leveraging “new technology,” and serving the “new industry.” Many old friends from the television festival community have sent warm wishes and good hopes, eagerly anticipating the new visual feast of the next edition.
According to Chen Guo, in 2025, the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival will comprehensively upgrade five major brands: the Magnolia Award, the Lingang International Film and Television Market, the SIFF ING Young Filmmakers Image Program, the Classic IP Renewal Project, and the SIFF SCREENING initiative, creating a refreshed matrix to establish new developmental advantages.
This year, the “Magnolia Award” ceremony of the Shanghai Television Festival was held for the first time in the Lingang New Area, achieving a win-win effect for cultural and tourism integration. Both sides will build on this momentum to continue deepening strategic cooperation, and next year, the “Magnolia Award” ceremony will again take place in Lingang, further empowering the new city’s development through large-scale festival exhibitions.
Film and television share the same roots, collaborating to forge brilliance. Next year, the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival will leverage the connection between the two festivals to merge and upgrade the film and television market into an “International Film and Television Market.” Through various forms and dimensions of market activities, it will gather more popularity and richer resources, creating a grand event for the film and television industry and building an open, inclusive, and collaborative exchange platform for professionals worldwide.
An important mission of the festival is to discover new talent. Currently, the Shanghai International Film Festival is continuously enhancing its support system for young filmmakers around the awards, forming a “6+1” tiered system for nurturing new talent. Next year, the first tier, the mini-film section, will be expanded and upgraded to the “SIFF ING Young Filmmakers Image Program,” focusing on “new technologies,” “new perspectives,” and “new youth,” reaching out to overseas creators who possess unique understandings of AI, vertical screen formats, etc., to bring vibrant, unconventional young energy to the festival.
As early as 2011, the Shanghai International Film Festival initiated a classic film restoration project to promote the preservation of Chinese film heritage and cultural transmission, having restored classics like “Sisters on Stage,” “Flowers in the Sea,” and “Blessings.” Next year, the film festival will collaborate with Shanghai Film Group to launch the “Classic IP Renewal Project,” starting with 4K restoration projects, enriching the display space through innovative application scenarios, allowing “old films” to inspire “new interpretations,” injecting more vitality into classic IPs. The two sides plan to commence this project with the classic work “Buddha’s Lantern” from the history of Chinese animation.
In terms of creating daily film exhibitions, the Shanghai International Film Festival continues to expand its new exhibition brand “SIFF SCREENING.” From the showcase of French cinema masters and Spanish cinema masters to the recently concluded German cinema masters exhibition, the focus has shifted from simple national film screenings to “Film+” cross-border activities, continuously enhancing the charm of the “city of films.”
Chen Guo also revealed at the event that the highly popular “New Japanese Film Showcase” will return in December, serving as this year’s closing exhibition for “SIFF SCREENING,” with a renowned Japanese filmmaker invited to attend. Notably, this year's “New Japanese Film Showcase” will also extend into the Yangtze River Delta, with screenings planned in Hangzhou and Ningbo.
Representatives from the film industry, various partners, and media, totaling over 200 attendees, participated in the event, sharing their connections and sentiments with the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival.
