The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival has unveiled the competition lineup for its Golden Goblet Awards, spanning five categories across fiction, documentary, animation, and short film. The festival runs June 12-21.
The main competition features 12 titles drawn from 15 countries and territories, all of them world premieres. Among the contenders are Indonesia’s “My Own Last Supper,” directed by Ismail Basbeth; “Night of Blindness,” a Turkey-Germany co-production from Reis Çelik; and Yassine El Idrissi’s Moroccan entry “Halima.” China is represented by two titles: “Atlantic Rhapsody,” directed by Zhong Kaifeng, and Liu Xiaoyang’s “The Great Skull.” The Chinese Mainland-Hong Kong co-production “Secret in the Box,” directed by Frankie Tam Gong-Yuen, also competes, alongside Nicolás Rincón Gille’s Belgian entry “Iluminada,” Alan Minas’s Brazil-U.K. co-production “Luiza’s Desert,” and Daniil Merkulov’s Russian entry “Sea Sons.” Germany appears twice in the lineup – Josef Brandl’s “Superbuhei” and Susanne Heinrich’s “The Miserable Mother,” the latter sharing its world premiere with the Munich International Film Festival. Louis Godbout’s Canadian entry “The Parking Spot” rounds out the section.
The main competition jury is chaired by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai. The seven-member panel also includes Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Chinese director Guan Hu, Kyrgyz director Aktan Arym Kubat, Mexican writer-director-producer Fernanda Valadez, Chinese actor Xin Zhilei, and Georgian director Déa Kulumbegashvili.
The Asian New Talent section, which spotlights debut and second features by Asian directors, draws 12 titles from across the continent and beyond. India-Germany co-production “Hunter’s Moon,” directed by Ridham Janve, competes alongside Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s “9 Temples to Heaven,” fresh off its Cannes debut, and Kazakh director Alibi Mukushev’s “No Good in Sight: A Story.” Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad’s Bangladesh-Germany co-production “The Blind Girl and an Elephant” is among the section’s world premieres, as are Büşra Bülbül’s Turkish entry “About the Mother,” Zaid Abu Hamdan’s Jordan-KSA co-production “Boomah,” and Narghiza Dotieva’s Kyrgyz film “Skylark.” China contributes four titles: “Cassowary” (Zhang Hanyi), “Her First Taste” (Gong Yiwen), and “No Hard Feelings” (Liu Shichuan), alongside Mak Tin Shu’s Chinese Mainland-Hong Kong co-production “Dog Day Evening.” Wan Bo’s “Strangers in the Mountain” also competes.
The Asian New Talent jury is presided over by Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen, joined by Indonesian director and screenwriter Kamila Andini, Chinese director and screenwriter Liu Jiayin, Kazakh director and screenwriter Farkhat Sharipov, and Taiwanese actor Wen Qi.
The documentary competition presents five world premieres. Chinese entry “Notes Unheard,” directed by Gu Yun, competes alongside Chilean documentary “The Tiger of the East” (Jorge Acevedo), Spanish film “Benigno” (David Baute), Elena Chemerska’s North Macedonia-Croatia-Slovenia co-production “Ruins,” and “Wheels of Forgotten Dreams,” directed by Milos Ljubomirovic and Danilo Lazovic from Serbia, Bulgaria, and Croatia.
The animation section fields five features. Brazil’s “Amadeo and the Hypothetical New World,” co-directed by Brenda Lígia and Edu Felistoque, competes with Linda Hambäck’s Scandinavian co-production “Dante,” Ronny Gani’s Indonesian entry “Garuda: Dare to Dream,” French film “Lucy Lost” (Olivier Clert), and “Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope,” a Spain-Chile-Argentina co-production directed by Elio Guiroga and Beñat Beitia.
The 28th SIFF is guided by the China Film Administration and hosted by China Media Group alongside the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.
28TH GOLDEN GOBLET AWARDS
MAIN COMPETITION
“Atlantic Rhapsody,” Zhong Kaifeng, China
“Halima,” Yassine El Idrissi, Morocco
“Iluminada,” Nicolás Rincón Gille, Belgium
“Luiza’s Desert,” Alan Minas, Brazil, U.K.
“My Own Last Supper,” Ismail Basbeth, Indonesia
“Night of Blindness,” Reis Çelik, Turkey, Germany
“Sea Sons,” Daniil Merkulov, Russia
“Secret in the Box,” Frankie Tam Gong-Yuen, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong China
“Superbuhei,” Josef Brandl, Germany
“The Great Skull,” Liu Xiaoyang, China
“The Miserable Mother,” Susanne Heinrich, Germany, France
“The Parking Spot,” Louis Godbout, Canada
ASIAN NEW TALENT
“9 Temples to Heaven,” Sompot Chidgasornpongse, Thailand
“About the Mother,” Büşra Bülbül, Turkey
“Boomah,” Zaid Abu Hamdan, Jordan, KSA
“Cassowary,” Zhang Hanyi, China
“Dog Day Evening,” Mak Tin Shu, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong China
“Her First Taste,” Gong Yiwen, China
“Hunter’s Moon,” Ridham Janve, India, Germany
“No Good in Sight: A Story,” Alibi Mukushev, Kazakhstan
“No Hard Feelings,” Liu Shichuan, China
“Skylark,” Narghiza Dotieva, Kyrgyzstan
“Strangers in the Mountain,” Wan Bo, China
“The Blind Girl and an Elephant,” Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad, Bangladesh, Germany
DOCUMENTARY
“Benigno,” David Baute, Spain
“Notes Unheard,” Gu Yun, China
“Ruins,” Elena Chemerska, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia
“The Tiger of the East,” Jorge Acevedo, Chile
“Wheels of Forgotten Dreams,” Milos Ljubomirovic, Danilo Lazovic, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia
ANIMATION
“Amadeo and the Hypothetical New World,” Brenda Lígia, Edu Felistoque, Brazil
“Dante,” Linda Hambäck, Sweden, Norway, Denmark
“Garuda: Dare to Dream,” Ronny Gani, Indonesia
“Lucy Lost,” Olivier Clert, France
“Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope,” Elio Guiroga, Beñat Beitia, Spain, Chile, Argentina
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“2000,” Renata Lučić, Croatia
“Chicken Lady,” Yuan Shuqi, China, U.S.
“Elsewhere,” Lin Tingxuan, China, Thailand
“Kill, Kokesh, Kill!,” Jan Míka, Czech Republic
“Last Train,” Xu Weihao, China
“Lazare,” Claire Dietrich, France
“Sitting Bird,” Athena Han, Canada
“The Drought,” Christian Popa, Romania
“The Matchmaker,” Sophia Kuestenmacher, Germany
“Zaza Gogogo,” Chen Kedi, China
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“If Only,” Ada Guvenir, Belgium
“Julka,” Valeria Cozzarini, Slovenia, Italy
“Shoes,” Salvatore Centoducati, Italy
“Unplug,” Comandante Bebé, Spain
“Water’s Time Slice,” He Jiaxuan, China
