Science Fiction Film Week｜Online Reservation for Outdoor Screening Starts

During this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival, the “Science Fiction Film Week” has been launched, and a series of events have been announced successively.

The outdoor screening we are going to introduce today is also a gift of Science Fiction Film Week for our film fans and citizens.

Not restricted by traditional cinemas, you can start a unique movie watching journey with your family and friends at Shanghai Chenshan Drive-in Cinema!

The list of films for the outdoor screening includes three films from the “Classic Retrospective” theme of the Science Fiction Film Week: DEATH RAY ON CORAL ISLAND, DISLOCATION, and WONDER BOY, which present the exploration of science fiction films by early Chinese filmmakers. There are also three new international films: TALE OF THE SLEEPING GIANTS in “SPECTRUM-ALTERNATIVES”, '83 in “GLOBAL VILLAGE - INDIAN FILM WEEK”, and PLASTIC SYMPHONY in “VIVA LA FESTIVAL”, hoping to provide a variety of films to our film fans for selection.

Film description:

DEATH RAY ON CORAL ISLAND

-1980-

Highlight: Dubbing master Qiu Yuefeng portrays the villain

Zhao Qian, a Chinese scientist living abroad, is murdered by Weinasi’s general manager Bulaixiesi after developing an atomic battery. Zhao Qian’s student Chen Tianhong escapes to Coral Island with the sample and defeats Bulaixiesi by using the death ray machine invented by Dr. Ma Tai. The film, directed by Zhang Hongmei who had starred in SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN, was hailed as China’s first science fiction feature film. Based on the only American science fiction film they had watched, the team created the film with their imagination. The scenes of the death ray machine destroying the submarine and the nuclear explosion greatly shocked the Chinese audience at the time. Interestingly, the two main characters of the film were played by Qiu Yuefeng and Qiao Zhen, two dubbing masters of Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio. Liu Guangning and Yu Ding, another two masters of Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio, participated in the dubbing of the film.

DISLOCATION

-1986-

Highlight: A domestic science fiction masterpiece beyond the times

The second feature film directed by Huang Jianxin, and a sequel to his first feature film, THE BLACK CANNON INCIDENT. After being promoted to director, Zhao Shuxin created a robot in his image to attend numerous administrative meetings for him. In the form of science fiction, the film has a good-natured criticism of too many paper work and meetings in the official circles at the time, and explores the “alienation” of human beings in the face of power through the transformation of the robot from obedience to arrogance, while the three dream scenes are perfect symbols of the intellectuals’ trend of thought in the 1980s, all of which made the film a science fiction masterpiece in the 1980s. Liu Zifeng played two roles in the film, demonstrating his extraordinary acting skills. Liu Zifeng passed away on May 7, 2022, and this screening will also pay tribute to him.

WONDER BOY

-1988-

Highlight: Liu Beibei’s encounter of the third kind on the Great Wall

China’s first children’s science fiction film co-directed by Song Chong and Weng Luming. Liu Beibei, who was born with electriferous hands due to a UFO streaking over the delivery room, possesses super powers which cause a lot of trouble to this pupil. The film echoed the craze for UFO and supernormal capabilities in China in the 1980s, and the mix of the two elements in a children’s film was itself very creative. At the same time, because Beibei can do a lot of things with super powers that ordinary people cannot do, there are a variety of imaginative and childlike scenes, such as unstoppable attacks on the football field, helping the blind regain sight, etc. The film was loved by young audience, and has become one of the collective childhood memories of several generations because of its constant reruns on TV.

TALE OF THE SLEEPING GIANTS

-2021-

Highlight: Finland's highest-grossing documentary

The film is the third nature documentary produced by Finnish production company Matila Röhr Productions, after TALE OF A FOREST and TALE OF A LAKE, and is the highest-grossing documentary ever in Finland. The crew filmed in Lapland for over three years, using the latest camera technology to document the natural scenery and rare species of the Arctic Circle. Producer and director Marko Röhr strings the four seasons of Lapland together with old Norse mythology. The epic score complements the magnificent landscapes, while the scenes of interacting animals captured at close range are amazing. The film is narrated by famous Finnish actor Peter Franzén, whose vivid storytelling style also graces the film. The film won the Best Original Score Award in the Documentary Category of 2022 International Film Music Critics Award.

'83

-2021-

Highlight: The cricket match can also be so impassioned

The film recreates in a thrilling pace the real event of the Indian team’s win of championship at the Third Cricket World Cup in 1983. The cross-cutting of different characters and narrative threads, as well as the rousing score, continuously reinforce the desire to win, making the audience feel like they are in the cricket ground. The film team invited the sons of several Indian and English players to play the part of their fathers in the film, creating an interesting intertextuality between the real history and the film. The film was nominated for 11 awards at International Indian Film Academy Awards 2022 and won three awards, including Best Sound.Director of the film, Kabir Khan has swept across Indian film festivals with BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN.

PLASTIC SYMPHONY

-2022-

Highlight: A handsome talented musician in Vienna

Cellist Matus gives up his studies and goes home to take care of his younger brother David when his adoptive mother is dying, but he is not willing to be dispirited, until he meets his former alumni. Slovakian director Juraj Lehotsky’s debut feature BLIND LOVES was nominated for the Golden Camera at Cannes Film Festival. In this new film, he tells the story of a young musician in the musical capital of Vienna, who has both lost and gained between his dreams of fame and fortune, his responsibilities for family and the meaning of life. Polish newcomer Bartosz Bielenia, who has been noticed by the movie circle for CORPUS CHRISTI, and handsome Romanian Sabin Tambrea, who has successfully portrayed Ludwig II, both gave excellent performances in the film. The film was nominated for the Main Competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2022.

Reservation method:

Follow the WeChat public account “rwsj-sh” for more details, and click here for online reservation.

Movie watching address:

Parking lot 2, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden (near the intersection of Shenzhuan Highway and Shetiankun Highway)

Note:

1. A total of 48 parking spaces are available for each screening, and each cell phone number can only book one ticket for each screening.

2. Reservation will be closed 2 hours before each screening, and will be closed earlier if there are no vacancies.

3. At 30 minutes before the screening, the audience will enter the venue with the screenshot of successful registration (cell phone number and license plate number shall be included in the reservation information), and the parking position must be arranged by the on-site staff.

4. Please observe the order on the scene and maintain a good movie-watching environment together.

In the drive-in cinema

You can immerse yourself in the nature

Feel the special atmosphere of light and shadow

And unlock your new map of movie watching!