27th Shanghai International Film Festival opens

The 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) kicked off on Friday, with nearly 4,000 film submissions from around the world, setting a new record for the event.

This highly anticipated event for movie fans runs from June 13 to 22. This year's coveted Golden Goblet Awards received more than 3,900 film applications from 119 countries and regions. Among them, 49 entries compete across five categories.

Italian film director Giuseppe Torn-atore has been appointed as the jury president for the main competition section of the Golden Goblet Awards.

Speaking in an interview with China Media Group on Friday, Chen Guo, director of the Shanghai International Film and TV Festival Center, underscored the highlights of this year's SIFF.

"What's special this year is that we have made a pioneering merger of the film market event and the television market event, which used to be two specialized events in different fields in the past editions of SIFF, and upgraded them to the international film and television market event. In such an exhibition, all the international companies related to the film and television industries will have a presence in the exhibition stands of the event, with the launch of activities, and with negotiations on possible cooperation. We hope to better connect the overall film and television resources, and help the film and television industries achieve better integrated development," Chen said.

As this year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Chinese cinema, the 27th SIFF will focus on the development and future of China's film industry. The theme of the opening forum will be "Cinematic Splendor through Ages, Renewed with a New Horizon," according to Chen.

"We hope that at such a crucial point, the forum can, through discussions and talks among the heads of film and television companies, as well as between young and veteran filmmakers, further inspire filmmakers to contribute their talent and wisdom to the efforts of China's film industry to reach new heights," she said.

Chen noted that this year's SIFF features a special screening section titled "Resonance: A Brief Encounter of Chinese and World Cinema," in which some classic Chinese and foreign films of the same type, theme, or genre from the same time period will be screened, so as to present a cross-temporal and spatial dialogue.

Tickets for screenings at the 27th SIFF have been on sale both on online platforms and in offline box offices since June 5.

The event will offer cinephiles more than 400 films from 71 countries and regions. They will be showed at around 1,500 screenings in 48 cinemas across the affluent Yangtze River Delta in east China. About 30 percent of the films will be exhibited in 4K version.

Notably, this year's SIFF has scheduled special marathon-style film screenings for energetic young movie fans, allowing them to watch classic film series or super-long movies overnight.

"For young audience members attending the current event, they need to have good physical strength. This year, we have three special screenings, which are called 'overnight marathons,' including the consecutive screening of the four main films in 'the Rebuild of Evangelion series', the consecutive screening of David Lynch's three classic works, and the screening of the 568-minute grand documentary 'Shoah.' In fact, their ticket sales performance is very good, and the tickets are almost sold out in seconds," Chen said.

27th Shanghai International Film Festival opens

A major port in northern Venezuela came under U.S. airstrikes in the early hours of January 3, which caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, destroyed critical medical supplies in a warehouse, and severely impacted centuries-old cultural heritage sites, according to local residents.

The La Guaira Port, a vital hub for imports that support daily life in the region, was heavily damaged during the attack.

Large quantities of medical supplies stored at the port were destroyed. A historic cultural building dating back for some 300 years was also badly damaged by the bombardment.

Residents living near the port recalled the terrifying scenes as explosions shook nearby neighborhoods.

Humberto Bolivar, who lives in a community separated from the port by only a main road, said the blast waves shattered his home's windows, while stray shrapnel struck the water tank on his roof. According to reports, three missiles were fired at the port that night.

Bolivar said that beyond material losses, he is most concerned about the psychological impact on his children, who remain too frightened to leave their home days after the attack.

"The United States invaded our country. The children were frightened. This is not good for them, because it leaves some children with psychological trauma. They do not want to go to school or leave the house, because they are afraid that something worse might happen. We truly do not want this to happen to our country," he said.

Apart from civilian facilities, local cultural heritage site was also affected.

The La Guaira state government building, a structure with nearly 300 years of history and once served as the site of Venezuela's first national customs office, was struck by the force of the explosions.

Windows of the building were shattered, and furniture scattered across the floor.

"As people of La Guaira, we feel deep pain. Our cultural heritage has been bombed. We are living in constant anxiety and suffering, and life can no longer be the same as it was before," said a local named Henry Cumares.

The U.S. side has claimed the airstrikes targeted warehouses allegedly used to store narcotics. However, locals refuted such accusation.

"According to what Donald Trump said, they bombed this place using the excuse that the warehouses here were used to store drugs at the port. But based on the video released by our governor, these warehouses that were burned contained medicine for kidney patients and foods. Many people depend on these supplies to survive. I think the bombing is extremely despicable," said a local resident named Alejandro Capriles.

US strike hits Venezuelan port, wrecking medical supplies, heritage building