Chinese filmmaker Zhong Kaifeng made his big introduction to the world at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Saturday night.He won the main Golden Goblet award for his first movie, *Atlantic Rhapsody*.
The Golden Goblet jury, led by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, called the film a "uniquely compelling visual experience." For Zhong, who is 29 years old, the story of a young man from northern China searching for meaning in life is important.
He said, "I want to say that Atlantic is not a definition, it does not give answers — but today it seems to have given me an answer.
That answer is to keep going, to love, to work hard, and then to believe."
The win was a great ending for the Shanghai International Film Festival, which wanted to shine a light on young talent.
Zhong's film is a good example.The jury said it "captivated and impressed" them with its "bold experimental approach that explores the absurdity of human life." The festival hopes it has found a new voice in Chinese cinema.Another rising star also won an award at SIFF's Asian New Talent section — Gong Yiwen, who is making her debut with her touching coming-of-age drama *Her First Taste*.The film was made through SIFF's Project initiative for young filmmakers.
The Asian New Talent jury said, "The film's patient observation and sensitivity to the textures of ordinary life announce a new exciting voice in Asian cinema.
*Her First Taste* is a memorable work about young love and growing up, balancing emotional restraint with deep resonance, and marks Gong Yiwen as a filmmaker with great promise."
This year's festival has focused a lot on young filmmakers, with many new talents from China and the region showing their work.
The festival has also supported these filmmakers through programs like the SIFF ING Young Filmmakers Program and the SIFF YOUNG × Shanghai Young Filmmakers Support Program, with Joan Chen and Wen Muye as mentors.
Over the years, 78 films have been made public after being developed through these programs.
Some of them, like Wan Bo's suspense-filled drama *Strangers in the Mountain*, Peng Chen and Xu Wei's *Desert Beneath the Ocean*, and Kangdrun's *Linka Linka*, are part of this year's lineup.
Saturday night began the last part of the 10-day festival.
The opening night had big names like Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Michelle Yeoh, who was promoting her new Chinese-language film *This Is My Time* — her first in almost ten years.She won an Oscar for *Everything Everywhere All at Once*.
There were also heartfelt tributes to famous filmmakers like Lisa Lu, who is 100 years old by the local calendar, and Zhang Yimou, who was given an award for his "outstanding" work in Chinese cinema.
The festival will continue with the screenings of the winning films and others, along with the closing film, *The Decisive Moment* by Zhang Disha, which is being shown in Shanghai for the first time on Sunday.
By the end of the festival, there will have been around 1,600 screenings of 420 films in the city and surrounding areas.
There were sold-out showings of popular films from other festivals like Cannes, including Pawel Pawlikowski's *Fatherland*.
Fans of all ages also enjoyed retrospectives of classic films, like those of Ken Loach, Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe, which were shown in high-quality 4K versions.
The variety of films and the reactions of the audience were highlighted by Moroccan director Yassine El Idrissi, who won the Golden Goblet for best director for his funny film *Halima*, about a woman who refuses to give up.
He said, "It proves that we are all the same.We just need some translation."
There was also a lot of discussion about the role of artificial intelligence at the festival.
Many panels brought together top industry people to talk about the pros and cons of AI.Some talks were about AI directly, with titles like "Smart Tech, Immersive Worlds, the Next Film Revolution" and "When AI Learns to Create, What Grounds Cinema." The topic came up in almost every discussion.
