The 28th SIFF Golden Goblet Awards Ceremony Takes Place: Glory and Purity of Cinema Take Center Stage

The Golden Goblet Awards Ceremony and red carpet of the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) unfolded at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on the evening of June 20.

As Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jury President of the Golden Goblet Awards Main Competition, presented the Best Feature Film trophy, and forty-nine productions competed for eighteen awards on the Golden Goblet Awards stage, Shanghai, the City of Film, once again embraced openness, inclusiveness and diversity, composing a brand-new chapter for global cinema.

Dazzling Stars Grace the Red Carpet

SIFF is both a festival for movie fans and a gathering for aspiring filmmakers across the globe. Ahead of the awards ceremony, the red carpet welcomed a stellar assembly of renowned Chinese and international filmmakers.

Huang Jianxin (producer) and Zhang Disha (director) of closing film The Decisive Moment led cast members Huang Bo, Leo Wu, Gao Ye and Sunny Sun to make the first appearance, kicking off the glamorous night. Tony Leung Chiu-wai, President of the Main Competition jury, closed out the red carpet procession alongside jury members Dora Bouchoucha, Guan Hu, Aktan Abdykalykov, Dea Kulumbegashvili, Fernanda Valadez and Xin Zhilei. Also present were jury representatives from different sections: Anthony Chen, Farkhat Sharipov, Liu Jiayin and Wen Qi from the Asian New Talent Competition; Geeta Gandbhir, Carla Gutiérrez and Liu Qing from the Documentary Competition; Gitanjali Rao from the Animation Competition; Lena von Döhren and Qiu Sheng from the Short Film Competition. The red carpet shone brilliantly with crews of all competing entries and numerous industry figures (listed by stroke count of Chinese surnames): Tenzin Tsundue, Ma Sichun, Yosh Yu, Shi Pengyuan, Sean Lau, Carina Lau, Amy Chen, Jolane Koo, Nattawut Poonpiriya, Leo Wu, Zhang Mo, Zheng Yunlong, Shila, Stanley Tong, Philip Yung and Derek Tsang.

Over nearly nine days since the opening of this year’s SIFF, more than 420 films have lit up local screens across Shanghai for over 1,600 screenings. Countless filmmakers connected with audiences both on screen and offline. These sincere exchanges brought stars together and took cinema back to the raw, honest beauty that first defined it.

Embrace the Glory of the Golden Goblet Awards

Following the opening performance “The Busy Bee at the Film Festival”, each award was announced one after another at that night’s Golden Goblet Awards Ceremony, which served as a bridge for global filmmakers to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

For the first time in the history of SIFF, all twelve entries in this year’s Golden Goblet Awards Main Competition held their world premieres here. The eight accolades were ultimately distributed among six films, embodying the consistent high standards, diversity and inclusiveness upheld by the Golden Goblet Awards.

Atlantic Rhapsody, helmed by post-95s young director Zhong Kaifeng, took home the Best Feature Film in the Main Competition. Belgian production Illuminada won the Jury Grand Prix. Yassine El Idrissi, director of Moroccan film Halima, was named Best Director. Zhang Songwen, lead actor of Chinese film Secret in the Box, and Khadija Amari from Moroccan film Halima claimed Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. Reis Çelik, screenwriter of the Turkish-German co-production Night of Blindness, received the Best Screenplay Award, while Hao Jiayue from Atlantic Rhapsody earned Best Cinematography. German-French co-production The Miserable Mother was honored with the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award.

After receiving the Golden Goblet trophy for Best Feature Film from Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jury President of the Main Competition, Zhong Kaifeng teared up and shared his thoughts. “Atlantic Rhapsody is not a film that hands audiences ready answers, yet this award has given me my own answer: persistence, passion, hard work, and faith.”

One performance at the ceremony left a lasting impression. Young dancer Chang Hongji and performers from the Shenzhen Opera & Dance Theatre presented an excerpt from dance drama “Wing Chun”. Within a compact stage space, they embodied the spirit and bearing of Chinese martial arts, paying tribute to China’s wuxia cinema with the theme “A Century of Grace, Never Fades from the Screen”. The legacy endures thanks to emerging talents carrying forward the power forged by past generations.

All six awards of the Asian New Talent Section were unveiled that night. Her First Taste, directed by Gong Yiwen, claimed Best Film. Thai director Sompot Chidgasornpongse took home Best Director for 9 Temples to Heaven, and the film’s lead actor Sompop Songkampol also won Best Actor. Ma Fufu, the female lead of Her First Taste, was named Best Actress. Ridham Janve from the Indian-German co-production Hunter’s Moon received Best Screenplay, while Samiul Karim Shuptak of Bangladesh-German co-production The Blind Girl and an Elephant earned Best Cinematographer.

Though creation is an exhausting trial, victory brings nothing but sheer joy. Born in the 1990s, director Gong Yiwen first launched her project at SIFF Project. Now her debut feature has claimed two major awards in the Asian New Talent section, with gratitude and passion as the core of her acceptance speech. “I am overjoyed and thrilled to receive this award at SIFF. I was even more moved to see our leading actress take home Best Actress just now. I am incredibly proud of this project, which was far from easy to pull off. My deepest thanks go to every single member of my crew.” Speaking of filmmaking as a craft, she added, “This is the profession I love with all my heart!”

Elsewhere, Chinese documentary Notes Unheard was named Best Documentary Film, while French animation Lucy Lost won Best Animation Feature. In the Short Film Competition, Canadian live-action piece Sitting Bird took Best Live Action Short Film, and Belgian title If Only claimed Best Animated Short Film.

Pure Cinematic Magic in Shanghai

Shanghai is hailed as the City of Film. As the festival unfolds, a vibrant cinematic vibe permeates every corner of the metropolis. To countless filmmakers, it is a vivid, whimsical city that feels straight out of an animation. It brims with delight for audiences and lets jury members experience cinema in its most unadulterated form.

From the stage, Tony Leung Chiu-wai shared his experience collaborating with the jury panel. “We had countless heated discussions and held differing viewpoints during deliberations,” he said. “Yet I could never have fulfilled this duty without their professional insights and perspectives.” He mentioned multiple times during his stay in Shanghai that it had been an absolute delight to set aside all distractions and immerse himself fully in cinema.

For many filmmakers, SIFF is a cinematic home worth revisiting time and again. Aktan Abdykalykov, the Kyrgyz director who won the Best Feature Film at last year’s Golden Goblet Awards Main Competition, once served as Jury President of the Asian New Talent section and joined the Main Competition jury this year. He said he plans to come back next year. “Maybe I will sit quietly in the audience and watch a film, and that will be the happiest moment for me.”

When the cast and crew of closing film The Decisive Moment took the stage, a special guest was invited—Wang Shuqun, a national master craftsman from Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. Since the first space rendezvous and docking of Shenzhou-8 and Tiangong-1 in 2011, Wang and his team have successfully completed more than 30 space docking missions. When the aerospace tale on screen met real-life space engineers on the same stage, the power of cinema transcended the frame at this moment, bridging dreams and reality, as well as the past and the future.

Rooted in profound cinematic heritage, Shanghai, the City of Film, witnesses burgeoning emerging filmmaking forces thriving here. As the birthplace of Chinese cinema, it is evolving into a city of the future and a haven for dreams. Once again, congratulations to all winners for realizing their cinematic dreams on the Golden Goblet Awards stage in the City of Film!