SIFF announced its official cinemas and panorama categories

The Shanghai International Film Festival announced its official cinemas and its Panorama categories on May 25. The box office will open on June 5.

In addition to its regular categories such as Official Selection, Tribute to the Masters, View China, Spectrum, Global Village, Documentaries and Shorts, it has initiated a new sector  Environment Protection Films, which aims at raising public awareness.

This year’s Panorama has a selection of both classic and new films. It will not only feature the work of such names as John Woo and Woody Allen, but also includes the big  winners of the past year: The Hurt Locker (Best Film Oscar 2010) and Das weiße Band (Golden Palm, Cannes 2009).

Coinciding with the Shanghai EXPO 2010, the program of Europe and the City is especially presented in Global Village including films like Wings of Desire and Lights in the Dusk, together with programs featuring Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland, and Nordic countries.

Dozens of Chinese entries like The Legend is Born: Ip Man and Distant Thunder will provide a chance to see the best films of the year.

The newly initiated sector of environment protection films will include Ocean by Jacques Perrin and Home supervised by Luc Besson. This is a consciousness-raising exercise on behalf of SIFF by introducing films on this theme.

The 25 cinemas are all top venues covering the entire city. SIFF will use the internet sales system to facilitate ticket purchases while at the same time, the flexible ticket prices range from 40 to 60RMB – half of what you pay for some big commercial releases.

The Shanghai International film Festival 2010 will open on June 12.