SHANGHAI: The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) will host its first sci-fi film week to promote and share wisdom for the country’s expanding sci-fi film industry.
Starting on Sunday, the event will include forums and screenings of sci-fi films from around the world, including classic Chinese sci-fi films from the 1980s. On Sunday, the major discussion drew many known sci-fi film creators, including Guo Fan, director of China’s domestic sci-fi blockbusters “The Wandering Earth” and “The Wandering Earth II.”
Revealing plans about making “The Wandering Earth III,” Guo said his team would spend more time learning new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), which he believes will be a major changer in future filmmaking. According to the organizers, the sci-fi film week will also reveal details about the country’s most prominent sci-fi film projects in the coming years.
The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival began on Friday in the eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai. About 450 films from home and abroad will be presented at 41 cinemas across Shanghai during the nine-day event. The SIFF, founded in 1993, has grown in international popularity as a result of China’s thriving film industry. According to film data platforms Maoyan and Beacon, China’s 2023 box office reached the 20 billion yuan (approximately 2.8 billion US dollars) milestone in early May, one month earlier than last year.
