The 13th annual Shanghai International Film Festival kicks off a week packed with screenings in the Expo host city.
John Cusack (right) and Gong Li arrive for the opening ceremony of the 13th Shanghai International Film Festival at the Shanghai Grand Theater on Saturday, June 12, 2010. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xie Tingting]
Visiting Shanghai this week means you get to experience not only the World Expo, but also "world movies." The 13th annual Shanghai International Film Festival opened Saturday night, kicking off a week packed with screenings in the Expo host city.
The glitzy opening red carpet show welcomed 300-plus Chinese and international film stars.
"2012" star John Cusack was accompanied by Gong Li, his co-star in the new WWII thriller "Shanghai." The movie will be screened along with more than 300 other domestic and foreign movies at the festival's International Panorama section.
Oscar-winning American actor Adrien Brody was another highlight on the red carpet. Brody won a best actor Oscar in 2003 for his role in Roman Polanski's "The Pianist."
American actor Adrien Brody arrives for the opening ceremony of the 13th Shanghai International Film Festival at the Shanghai Grand Theater on Saturday, June 12, 2010. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xie Tingting]
Talking about the Shanghai festival, Brody said, "This is an opportunity to see a part of the world that I've never been."
American actress Claire Danes and French filmmaker Luc Besson also greeted Chinese fans from the red carpet.
Jet Li leads "Ocean Heaven" co-stars to pose for photographers on the opening red carpet of the 13th Shanghai International Film Festival at the Shanghai Grand Theater on Saturday, June 12, 2010. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xie Tingting]
Chinese action superstar Jet Li appeared on the red carpet with "Ocean Heaven" director Xue Xiaolu and co-stars Wen Zhang and Kwai Lun-Mei. In this film, Jet Li has his first non-fighting role as a cancer-suffering father who tries to help his autistic adult son learn how to live without him.
"Ocean Heaven," which was announced at the last minute as the festival's opening film, is also one of 16 candidates for the top honor, the Golden Goblet.
Winners of the Golden Goblet will be decided by an international jury led by Hollywood-based Hong Kong director John Woo.
The festival runs through June 20.
By Xie Tingting
