Golden Goblet Awards jury panel meets with media at press conference

Jury members for the Golden Goblet Awards of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival shared with the press their insights into cinema at a conference on Friday (June 14), the opening day of the annual film fest.

The seven-member jury panel of the Main Competition of the awards is chaired by celebrated French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, whose credits include "The Taste of Things," "Cyclo," and "The Scent of Green Papaya."

The jury also includes Australian director Rolf de Heer, German director Matthias Glasner, Hong Kong actor Leung Ka-fai, Argentine director Santiago Mitre, Chinese mainland director Sonthar Gyal, and Chinese mainland actress Zhou Xun.

This year a total of 50 film productions from home and abroad will compete for the Golden Goblet Awards in five categories – Main Competition, Asian New Talent, Animation Film, Documentary Film, and Short Film. Fourteen films are nominated for the Main Competition category.

In 2011, director Tran served as a judge of the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival. This time as the Main Competition jury president, Tran said that it is a big pleasure for him to discuss movies with other members.

"Cinema is a language," said Tran. "I'm speaking the language in a certain way."

Tran also extended his desire to cooperate with Chinese actors and film a project in China.

His aspiration was immediately echoed by Leung and Zhou.

Leung joked that he and Zhou are not the best, but nearly the best Chinese actors. He believed that foreign filmmakers would conceive brand new stories about China after they visited the film festival.

"They can think about us in their new movies," Leung said.

Leung also dubbed himself an old Shanghai native who had witnessed the rapid development of Shanghai, also known as the cradle of the Chinese film industry.

"I feel very honored to be a judge for the festival as it is a good opportunity to exchange with filmmakers and audiences," Leung said.

Actress Zhou said that she is very willing to recommend delicious food in the city to her foreign colleagues on the panel. She was also looking forward to the shock and surprise that the movies could bring.

Director Glasner, on his second visit to Shanghai, said he wanted to know the city better. Both he and director Mitre considered the festival a good chance to watch high-quality movies from other countries and talk with professionals in the film industry.