Shanghai Film Festival Unveils 12 World Premieres in Golden Goblet Awards Competition

The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) has announced its main competition lineup for the prestigious Golden Goblet Awards, featuring 12 titles that will all make their world premieres. This marks a historic first for the festival, which will take place from June 12 to June 21.

Record Number of Submissions

This year, the festival received a record number of submissions, with approximately 4,100 films from 125 countries and regions. A total of 49 titles will compete across five sections, showcasing a diverse array of cinematic talent.

Among the main competition entries, three are Chinese-language films directed by emerging filmmakers. The lineup reflects a commitment to highlighting new voices in cinema.

Diverse International Representation

The main competition features films from 15 different countries and territories. The Chinese-language entries include Atlantic Rhapsody by Zhong Kaifeng and The Great Skull by Liu Xiaoyang, both hailing from mainland China, as well as Secret in the Box, a co-production between mainland China and Hong Kong, directed by Frankie Tam Gong-Yuen.

Atlantic Rhapsody is described as a blend of drama, comedy, and fantasy, focusing on a supermarket stock clerk who experiences sleepless nights and auditory hallucinations after cooking a shark. The Great Skull, a dark comedy starring Wen Qi, Ni Hongjie, and Yu Entai, follows a young woman and her mother as they navigate a “funeral committee” arranged by her father before his unexpected death. Secret in the Box, featuring Zhang Songwen, Patrick Tam, and Isabella Leong, is inspired by Hong Kong’s 1970s “Box Murder Case,” exploring the story of a man who maintains his innocence for decades while a young investigator continues to dig deeper.

The only other Asian entry in the main competition is My Own Last Supper, directed by Indonesian filmmaker Ismail Basbeth. The remaining slots are filled predominantly by European films, including two from Germany: Superbuhei by Josef Brandl and The Miserable Mother by Susanne Heinrich, which will share its world premiere with the Munich International Film Festival. Other notable entries include Night of Blindness (Turkey-Germany co-production), Iluminada (Belgium), Luiza’s Desert (Brazil-U.K.), Sea Sons (Russia), Halima (Morocco), and The Parking Spot (Canada).

Focus on Emerging Talent

The all-world-premiere nature of the main competition underscores SIFF’s intention to serve as a launchpad for new talent rather than merely showcasing established films already making the festival rounds.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai, a prominent actor from Hong Kong, will lead the seven-member jury for the main competition. The panel includes notable figures such as Chinese director Guan Hu, whose film Black Dog won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2024; Georgian writer-director Déa Kulumbegashvili, whose film April was featured in competition at Venice in 2024; and Mexican filmmaker Fernanda Valadez, recipient of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance in 2020. Other jury members include Chinese actress Xin Zhilei, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, and Kyrgyz director Aktan Arym Kubat.

Asian New Talent Section

This year’s Asian New Talent section, dedicated to debut and second features by Asian directors, features 12 titles. All but one, 9 Temples to Heaven by Thai director Sompot Chidgasornpongse, which premiered at Cannes, are world premieres. The section showcases a strong representation of Chinese-language films, including Cassowary by Zhang Hanyi, Her First Taste by Gong Yiwen, No Hard Feelings by Liu Shichuan, Strangers in the Mountain by Wan Bo, and Dog Day Evening by Mak Tin Shu, a co-production between mainland China and Hong Kong. The jury for this section will be chaired by Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen, known for winning the Cannes Camera d’Or in 2013 for Ilo Ilo.

Documentaries and Animation

The festival will also feature competitions in documentary and animation, each showcasing five titles. Additionally, there will be ten live-action shorts and five animated shorts. U.S. filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir will chair the documentary jury, while British animator Will Becher will lead the animation panel.

Festival Opening

The festival will kick off on June 12 with the psychological drama Afterpiece, directed by first-time filmmaker Keane T.K. Wong and produced by Derek Yee. The film follows a blocked stage director, played by Stephen Fung, who becomes dangerously involved with a young actress during the casting process.

Shanghai’s 28th Golden Goblet Awards — Full Selection

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 (China, Hong Kong)
• 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, Saudi Arabia)
• Cassowary, Zhang Hanyi (China)
• Dog Day Evening, Mak Tin Shu (China, Hong Kong)
• 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)

As reported by www.hollywoodreporter.com.

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Published on 2026-06-01 07:18:00 • By FAME Delivered News Desk