Eye-pleasing, Fun, and Enjoyable – Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB Open to Visitors from Today

What does digital cinema mean? Experience the magic of nature without leaving home, synchronize your pulse with the heartbeat of a freehand climber on the cliff, and have a wild time in the magical world ...... With innovations and breakthroughs in technology, people now have the chance to explore the infinite possibilities beyond images, extending the boundaries of their senses.

Unveiled by a red-carpet ceremony and a gala opening night, the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) will officially kick off tonight at Shanghai Grand Theatre. This morning, the festival’s Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB has already been launched at Puxi Financial Plaza-PUSH Art Centre in Putuo District. The event was organized by Shanghai Municipal Film Administration and the People's Government of Putuo District, and hosted by Shanghai International Film & TV Festivals Co Ltd and the Administration of Culture and Tourism of Putuo District. Gao Yunfei, Vice Director of Publicity Department of Shanghai Municipal Committee of CPC and Director of Shanghai Film Administration, Jiang Dongdong, Secretary of the Putuo District Committee of CPC, Liu Dongchang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Putuo District Committee of the CPC and Director of the Publicity Department of Putuo District, and Wang Jue, Deputy Head of Putuo District attended the event.

This year, SIFF is returning to the limelight with a complete lineup of sections. The Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB, a first-ever initiative, will delight visitors with a special interactive experience through cutting-edge audiovisual technologies, such as VR and AR, so people can discover the fusion and connection between reality and visuals through various forms. With 360° panoramic cinema, vertical interactive experiences, virtual reality (VR) theatre, and extended reality (XR) installations, over 30 digital film and TV productions are on show at the same time. They are offering a fantastic immersive journey into the future world of film art.

Digital film and TV, a train journey to the future

Over the years, SIFF, being professional and authoritative, has built a platform for filmmakers at home and abroad to exchange ideas on new trends, technologies and to check the tides of development of the industry.

As film and TV technology have iterated in recent times, Cinema in Focus - SIFF VISION LAB provides a platform for professionals to communicate and exchange ideas, while allowing the public to experience the latest progress in virtual digital film and TV up-close and personally.

The event was launched with a relay speech on art and technology, to enable decoding of the present and future of digital film and TV for the general public.

Liu Yongmou, a professor at Renmin University of China, gave a speech that made the audience feel as if they had stepped onto a centennial train of light and shadow to discover the profound impact of digital technology on the future of film art.

Shi Zhiyan, Senior Vice President of Oriental Pearl Group, introduced how 5G technology supports cinema in the new era; Wang Congqing, President of HTC China, Yang Dong, Vice President of Technology of Unity Greater China, and Shao Qing, a new media artist, gave respective presentations on how film and technology can fuse and merge from different perspectives, such as technology and art.

A super-sensory experiment, interesting and pleasing, sparks a photo-taking fever

With the “official departure” of the train of the future, the 10-day Cinema in Focus - SIFF VISION LAB was officially launched.

The event was sought after by the public, overwhelmed by a flood of reservations. “One and a half hours is not enough for me to experience it all!” Many citizens attended to be immersed in the world of digital film and television, be it content-rich digital film and TV projects, or the buzzing film and TV cultural and creative displays. It was fun, eye-pleasing, and an enjoyable experience for all.

In the PUSH Art Centre at Puxi Financial Plaza, the Digital Film and TV Experience Exhibition featured 360° panoramic cinema, vertical interactive experiences, virtual reality (VR) theatre and extended reality (XR) installations. Among them, at the equipment exhibition in Area A at the entrance of the exhibition hall, the equipment was accompanied by introduction texts, showing the changes and development of the VR industry, and the latest equipment attracted and appealed to audiences with relevant knowledge. On the other side, the robot MOSS from “THE WANDERING EARTH” and the bust of Arnold Schwarzenegger from “THE TERMINATOR” instantly transported people into the future world of light and shadow.

In the exhibition hall, some visitors stepped on the three-dimensional “VR treadmill” and held the handle to feel the tension and excitement of “target shooting set in the desert”; some rocked from side to side in the technology-rich seats and entered the world of LAST ONE STANDING across time and space; others nestled in the 360° panoramic cinema in the shape of a planet to enjoy the charm of 22.7°C on the lounger.

The interactive experience in the H-Zone is even more exciting, offering a “strike back” along with FIGHTING BACK, controlling the LAUNCH OF ROCKET while lying down, or diving into the deep end to create your own music with JELLYFISH.

The interactive projection “Shanghai, Can I Dance With You?” entertained everyone and stimulated great interest. As the audience stood in front of the screen, rocked and danced, the Shanghai-style architecture shimmered to the rhythm of their bodies on the screen. Also, many audiences came early to queue up in front of the XR installation, SUPER TROUBLEMAKER, to pair up and venture out.

“It’s very relaxing and fun, and the universe seems to be right in front of us,.” claimed by a visitor who experienced the LAUNCH OF ROCKET project. Audiences having a great time with SUPER TROUBLEMAKER, told of their expectations for a home version: “We also have a similar XR device at home, but the gameplay of this one is more vivid.” Many attendees hoped to check out all the projects: “It’s really a pity to miss any one of them!”

The Film and TV IP Fair outside the PUSH Art Centre at Puxi Financial Plaza was also overcrowded with visitors: limited edition ticket stubs with the orbiter theme were a great hit, as were small items such as badges in mystery boxes, bookmarks, posters and fridge magnets. Stellar, Bandai Namco, Koitake and Huace Group, etc. brought a wide range of derivatives from their film and TV series, and Stellar even recreated the Hall of Fate from “LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL” on site.

“Culture + Digital”, a new path toward quality development

In recent years, Putuo District has taken the initiative to be part of the construction of Shanghai into an international cultural metropolis. In response to the integrated development trend of data and industry, it has carried out active exploration and practices to polish the cultural brand of “half marathon at Suhe,” and has embarked on a new path of high-quality development characterized by “culture + digital.”

Putuo District, pushing ahead with optimization of the layout of the cultural industry, has focused on new industries and new business models such as digital film and TV, digital advertising and so on. A number of leading enterprises such as Lian Ray Film, Alibaba Pictures and Stellar have settled in Putuo; a number of high-capacity cultural entities such as the Shanghai Digital Advertising Park, Suhe-Dream Cube and Zhenru Haixin Theatre have been built one after another. High-quality cultural industry events such as Cinema in Focus by SIFF, Shanghai International MCN Conference, Shanghai International Advertising Festival and Esports Shanghai Amateur Championship, among others, together present spectacles throughout the year.

For the future, Putuo District will fully fulfill the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, fully implement the deployment of Shanghai Municipal Committee of CPC and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. Keeping alive the Putuo spirit of being “reliable and thorough,” it will vigorously promote the prosperous development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries, thoroughly enforce the cultural digitalization strategy, actively cultivate new cultural business models, strive to deliver more high-quality cultural services and cultural products, and create more iconic digital and cultural scenes, to better meet the diversified, multi-level and multi-faceted spiritual and cultural needs of the people and make new contributions to building Shanghai into an international cultural metropolis.