Cinema in Focus | 10 days of Highlights, Leaving the Key to the Door of future

On June 9, a train of light and shadow towards the future departed from Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). For 10 days, creators, researchers and developers of extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) gathered to exchange and discuss, while the audience got in touch with the cutting-edge technology and audiovisual experience through an array of enjoyable projects.

Top section chosen by the audience

As an innovative digital film and TV section of SIFF, the Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB was recognized by both the industry and the audience, and tickets for this event were sold out soon within three days after its launch. Cinema in Focus has also received a rating of up to 9.6 points on Damai APP, which not only ranked first in the top selling and high scoring lists among exhibitions in Shanghai, but also ranked top in the high scoring list among exhibitions across the country. On the review page of this event, we can easily find a bunch of positive responses from the audience: “A great visual feast and it opens my eyes!” “I want experience that again!” “Full of science and technology, the visual effect is very impressive” ...... And there are also audiences who are expecting more: “too many projects, I want to experience more”, “only when you’re here, will you know that all of them are international award-winning works, and very innovative.”

Insights shared by professionals

The audience were coming for the buzz, while the professionals for the secret behind. During this Cinema in Focus – SIFF VISION LAB, artists, scholars, technology and equipment developers and other professionals from upstream and downstream of the industry assembled to share their in-depth understanding and thoughts on the future of cinema from different perspectives, such as content, form, technology and equipment. Be it NEQ-WULIN: THE ERA OF BLACK ART, where virtual reality interacts with music, THE MAGNITUDE OF CALLIGRAPHY, where the charm of calligraphy is expressed in a three-dimensional world, or SUPER TROUBLEMAKER, where the audience queued up to experience, they, while interpreting the secret behind these popular projects, are looking forward to more imaginative content and new works.

To renew our efforts to benefit the people

In its 30-year history, SIFF has witnessed the unremitting advancement of generations of artists and the tremendous changes brought by technological development to the audiovisual world. This year, SIFF has embraced the technological wave of digital film and TV development in a proactive manner, giving quality XR and VR works a chance to get close to the public. While sowing the seed of imagination in the hearts of ordinary film fans, it has also inspired the digital film and TV industry to further grow to find the key to the door of the future and embark on the journey toward the audiovisual world. The future is right before us, and the train of digital film and TV will keep moving forward. And we look forward to meeting you again in the next edition of SIFF.