2013-04-26

Oscar-Winning Director Tom Hooper will be Jury President for Golden Goblet Award

Award-winning British film director Tom Hooper, whose The King’s Speech won four Oscars, will be Jury President for the Golden Goblet Award, the ultimate prize for competing films at this year\'s Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).

The Festival will be held from June 15 to 23.

The only class-A international film festival in China, SIFF has grown at a rapid pace in recent years, attracting a large group of distinguished filmmakers from around the world to be international judges.

Jury Presidents for the Golden Goblet Award in the past have included internationally-renowned directors Luc Besson, Danny Boyle, Barry Levinson, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Karwai Wong, John Woo, and Kaige Chen.

The willing involvement of such prominent and influential filmmakers is a testament to SIFF\'s authority and influence in both domestic and international cinema markets.

Tom Hooper, 40, is one of the world\'s leading young directors with a string of international movie successes to his name.

His The King\'s Speech won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011.

His 2012 film Les Misérables won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

These two major film productions not only swept up Oscar accolades but also achieved remarkable global box office success of more than $400 million.

Tom Hooper was honored and delighted to receive the invitation from Siff. "I was most touched and honored to have been asked to serve as President of the Jury at this year\'s Shanghai International Film Festival. I am delighted to accept this invitation and am very much looking forward to my stay in Shanghai and participating in this year\'s Festival. I have great admiration for the Festival\'s efforts to provide a platform for directors to realize their dreams as this is, of course, close to my heart. The Shanghai International Film Festival joins those great festivals around the world devoted to maintaining the integrity of the motion picture as a timeless artistic medium and I am privileged to be a part of it," he said.

SIFF Organizing Committee Managing Director, Ms. Fu Wenxia, is pleased to have been able to invite him as Jury President for the Golden Goblet Award.

“Tom Hooper is a director so well-known to the Chinese audience, and two of his best films The King’s Speech and Les Misérables have both been screened in China," she said. "Concerned with both the artistic and commercial values of films, Hooper has achieved a perfect balance between the two aspects, which is also a constant aesthetic pursuit of the Golden Goblet Award of SIFF.”

Tom Hooper and six other international judges will be present at the 16th SIFF Opening Ceremony on June 15. A number of Hooper\'s major films will be screened in the “Tribute to Masters” section of the festival.