Shanghai International Film Festival

In the summer of 1896, film, which came into being for less than one year, arrived in Shanghai across the ocean, marking the first encounter between China and film. Since then, this new invention has survived and thrived in China.

Over the past 120 years, an indissoluble bond has been forged between Shanghai and film. People here love films, and this city has spared no efforts in nurturing the film industry. Shanghai has become a place where filmmakers from home and abroad concentrate. Thanks to the appeal of the older generation of filmmakers, Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) was officially founded in 1993 upon the approval of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

SIFF is a non-specialized competitive international film festival recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. Twenty editons have been held so far. In the process, supported by the rapid development of China’s film industry and the construction of Shanghai into an international cultural metropolis, SIFF has been building a professional and authoritative cultural exchange platform for foreign and domestic films, expanding its influence through the four major activities including the award, market, forum and film panorama, and enhancing its international communication through the “SIFF World Express” and “the Belt and Road”. SIFF has now become a well-established brand.

Adhering to constant innovations, SIFF is making its best efforts to provide professional service for the industry, builds an exchange platform for filmmakers around the world, creates opportunities for promising newcomers, presents foreign and domestic movie cultures for audiences, and contributes to the new development of China’s film industry and the ecological construction of Shanghai’s entire movie industry chain.