2020-07-26

Outdoor Screening Opens | Films Light Up Summer Nights in Shanghai

When the lights came on in the evening, the open-air cinema set up at Daning Music Plaza welcomed the first batch of audience for the SIFF Outdoor Screening this year. The film that will be screened tonight is DYING TO SURVIVE. Meanwhile, in the South Square of Taiping Lake in Xintiandi, the film LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT will be screened. As an innovative part of this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), Outdoor Screening is being held in the seven business districts of the 5 districts, namely Huangpu, Jing’an, Songjiang, Pudong and Putuo, as well as 36 communities in Pudong (from July 27), offering the public an audio-visual feast on summer nights.

Xu Zheng and Dong Chengpeng attended the kick-off of SIFF Outdoor Screening

"The long-lost cinema is finally back!" Before the screening began, Daning Music Plaza had been filled to capacity with viewers each occupying one square meter of space in an orderly manner, all in apparent anticipation of the movie. A middle-aged couple from a nearby community said: “We both tried to grab some tickets when we heard that the film festival was about to open, but were too slow to do so. A few days later, however, we learned to our amazement that there would be outdoor screenings and we have since been looking forward to tonight."

At the kick-off, the director Xu Zheng took the stage as a representative of filmmakers and shared with citizens on-site his story with SIFF, "It brings back a lot of memories to have DYING TO SURVIVE screened in the open air here tonight as part of SIFF Outdoor Screening, as the film had its world premiere at SIFF in 2018. And it is here in Jing\'an District too that I directed part of The Champion of MY PEOPLE, MY COUNTRY in some alleys."

The director Dong Chengpeng, whose film THE REUNIONS has been nominated for this year\'s Golden Goblet Awards, also took the stage to talk about his transformation from a filmgoer to a filmmaker. He hoped that such outdoor screenings would continue the enjoyable experience of movie fans.

It is reported that for the outdoor screenings, Xu Zheng specially asked the copyright owners of several films for permission. When selecting the films, he proposed more comedies be included to bring joy to the audience in this special period with the ongoing pandemic; when the directors Ning Hao and Han Han heard about SIFF Outdoor Screening, they both offered their own movies.

Chloe Zeng Mei Hui Zi’s childhood wish came true

A kick-off event was also held tonight at the SIFF Outdoor Screening location on the South Square of Taiping Lake in Xintiandi. People’s lifestyle has undergone a great deal of change due to the pandemic and to meet the public’s filmgoing needs, SIFF has launched a series of outdoor screenings for the first time, attracting audiences of all ages to come on this Saturday night to the fashion hub for a unique moviegoing experience.

The actress Chloe Zeng Mei Hui Zi of LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT was also present. She told us that watching a movie outdoors was one of her childhood wishes, which unfortunately had never come true. When she learned that SIFF would hold outdoor screenings, she was very excited, “My childhood wish has finally come true now." Lu Yunfan, the official poster designer of the 23rd SIFF and of LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, also attended the event and handed out autographed posters. He said that the official poster of this year’s festival has "reunion" as its theme, and the design is based on the "dawn breaking" concept in the hope that at this special moment, we can reunite with our beloved cinema.

A woman in her sixties recalled that outdoor screenings are the common memories of several generations of the 1980s and 1990s in Shanghai. Tonight’s screening evoked the fond memories of watching movies outdoors on summer nights with her family and friends, "This makes me nostalgic for the good old days."

From July 25, for 14 consecutive nights, there will be films screened outdoors on the South Square of Taiping Lake, Xintiandi, including SHOPLIFTERS, THE ASSASSIN and other international award-winners, and comedy-mystery films such as DETECTIVE CHINATOWN and VALAMI AMERIKA 3 (A KIND OF AMERICAN 3). In some of the screenings, well-known filmmakers, fashion bloggers and even jazz bands will be present for film-themed cultural lectures, concerts and other activities, offering citizens wonderful nightlife integrating film, fashion, culture, art, and music in addition to watching movies.

Sheds to give audiences peace of mind

In order to provide citizens with a safe viewing experience on summer nights, on-site COVID-19 prevention measures have been put in place. At the Daning Music Plaza location, everyone needs to go through a whole set of admission procedures, including health QR code presentation, body temperature monitoring, hand disinfection, ticket checking and seating, for which both staff and volunteers of the festival will provide professional guidance. In order to ensure a safe distance between viewers when watching movies, the seats are spaced one meter apart, and the number of people in the venue is strictly limited. Each screening location is equipped with anti-epidemic supplies such as disinfectant, hand sanitizer, masks, disposable gloves, etc., as well as medical aid points to provide the audience with necessary services at any time.

To protect the screenings from the elements, the open-air squares of the business districts will set up large sheds to give audiences peace of mind. Meanwhile, if the outdoor screening is affected by force majeure events such as rain, the schedule may be adjusted, so audiences are advised to refer to the official website for information.