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It has been commonplace in academic circles to divide up and label Chinese filmmakers into generations that reflect socio-political currents as much as cinematic style.

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who were educated at the end of the Cultural Revolution, are considered the leading lights of the “fifth generation.” The rebellious cluster that followed them, Zhang Yuan, Wang Xioashuai, Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye are among those labelled as “sixth generation.”

But with substantial bodies of work under their belts and international reputations already established, the sixth generation are no longer quite so new, nor so angry.

The four Chinese films selected for the main competition – all world premieres – at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival represent a showcase of directors who are also known-quantities, but who are worthy of higher profiles. (The festival’s Asian Talent selection has a further selection of six more directors seeking to break through.

Less than a decade ago, the Shanghai International Film Festival was the preeminent annual hotspot for Hollywood and European dealmakers determined to forge alliances and carve out a foothold in China’s then-booming commercial film sector. In the post-pandemic era, however, as the Chinese industry continues to mature and the Hollywood hype over the country’s market potential long ago gave way to grim reality, the festival has transitioned into a somewhat more inward-facing occasion.

That domestic focus is on display in the Shanghai event’s 2024 lineup, which features 10 Chinese movies among the 25 titles of the two main international competition sections (and not a single film from the U.S. or South Korea). For international film buffs, the Shanghai festival is now best viewed as an opportunity to take stock of current trends in Chinese filmmaking — and on that front, the event’s 2024 lineup is rich with potential.

The 26th...

The latest films by acclaimed Chinese directors Guan Hu, Wei Shujun, Gu Changwei and Zhang Dalei are among 14 features selected for the main competition at the upcoming 26th Shanghai International Film Festival.

The festival has announced a total of 50 films in contention for the Golden Goblet Awards, which further include 11 titles for the Asian New Talent competition, five each for the animated feature and documentary feature competition, and 15 for the short film competition. Between them are 38 world premieres – a new record for Siff – as well as six international premieres and six Asian premieres.

The main competition section carries four Chinese titles,...

Lou Ye's docufiction hybrid “Unfinished Film” is one of the best films made about life during pandemic, even though it wasn't originally planned to be that. It was the new circumstances that forced Ye to change his plans, when he and his crew were caught in the lockdown in a place near Wuhan to make a completely different kind of movie. What came out of it is a captivating act of genius which captures the exact moment when normality got squashed by the unpredictable chain of events: first the pandemic, and then a complete lockdown. Shot by multiple cameras, “Unfinished Film” is a movie within a movie, showing people in front and behind the camera, each absorbed in their own line of duty. But the actors and crew members are also caught off-guard, and at one point even Ye himself uexpectedly appears on screen, doing his directing job. In the movie,...

Exclusive: New York-based arthouse distributor KimStim has acquired all North American rights to Wei Shujun’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title, Only The River Flows. Paris-based MK2 Films is handling international sales on the film.

The Chinese noir thriller has recently been a big hit at the Chinese box office, grossing $43M (RMB309.5M), an exceptional number for an independent film in that market.

Following its Cannes premiere, the film has screened in 33 international film festivals, including London (BFI), Busan, Chicago and Vancouver. It received its China premiere at Pingyo International Film Festival, where it won best film in the festival’s Fei Mu Awards.

Based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel Mistakes By The River, the film is set in a small town in 1990s China where the chief of police is heading an investigation after a woman’s body washes up in the local river.

Zhu Yilong,...

Wei Shujun has actually become a Cannes regular, with “Ripples of Life” becoming his third film to screen there. Through an approach that combines intense arthouse aesthetics, the favorite meta concept of the film about film, semi-autobiographical elements, the trademark deadpan sense of humor so many Chinese movies exhibit accompanied by much irony, Wei seems to provide exactly what festivals are looking for in Asian movies.

Ripples of Life is screening at Five Flavours

The story is split into three chapters, all revolving around the production of a highbrow movie in a remote town in Yong'an. Following the way a film is actually shot, the first chapter focuses on the pre-production, although the protagonist is Xiao Gu, a waitress who regularly serves the crew in her in-laws' restaurant. The young woman is quite fed up with her life, since she also has a newborn who her husband does not help raise at all,...

Chinese film sales company Parallax Films is poised to make a splash this week in Tokyo. The outfit has two titles in the Tokyo International Film Festival official selection and a host of festival-travelled Chinese films in the Tiffcom market.

Appearing in main competition is “A Long Shot,” a crime drama by first time feature director Gao Peng. The film is set in the 1980s when China’s modernization was only beginning to get under way. Nevertheless, in the rust belt of the North East, factories were already in decline and thefts were on the rise. The story follows a former sharpshooter who retires to become a factory security officer and who tries to steer away from crime the son of a woman he cares about. The picture stars Zu Feng, Qin Hailu and Zhou Zhengjie.

Florian Zinke, a German cinematographer who has other Asian film credits including “Nina Wu...

Wei Shujun has actually become a Cannes regular, with “Ripples of Life” becoming his third film to screen there. Through an approach that combines intense arthouse aesthetics, the favorite meta concept of the film about film, semi-autobiographical elements, the trademark deadpan sense of humor so many Chinese movies exhibit accompanied by much irony, Wei seems to provide exactly what festivals are looking for in Asian movies.

“Ripples of Life” is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema

The story is split into three chapters, all revolving around the production of a highbrow movie in a remote town in Yong’an. Following the way a film is actually shot, the first chapter focuses on the pre-production, although the protagonist is Xiao Gu, a waitress who regularly serves the crew in her in-laws’ restaurant. The young woman is quite fed up with her life, since she also has a newborn who her husband...

It is the third feature from Chinese filmmaker Wei Shujun, and the sixth title Picturehouse has picked up from this year’s Cannes.

Picturehouse Entertainment has taken UK and Ireland rights for Wei Shujun’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title Only The River Flows, from Paris-based sales outfit mk2 films.

Set in 1990s, Banpo Town in rural China, a woman’s body is found by a river. The murderer’s identity seems obvious, but the chief of the criminal police, played by Zhu Yilong, starts to suspect otherwise.

It is based on Yu Hua’s short novel Mistakes By The River.

Imagine the gleaming surfaces of Park Chan-wook’s terrific “Decision to Leave” stripped of romance, all scuzzed-up and grimy. Imagine drilling down through Diao Yinan’s Berlin-winning “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and finding unexpected seams of absurdist dark comedy. You are now somewhere in the seamy offbeat world of “Only the River Flows,” director Wei Shujun’s inventive riff on Asian-noir that gives the expanding subgenre something its Chinese contributions often lack: a pitch-black sense of humor.

Wei has been laying claim to the title of laid-back joker in China’s new-gen pack since debuting with affable slacker comedy “Striding into the Wind” in 2020 (a selection in 2020’s canceled Cannes festival) and following it up with autoreflexive filmmaking satire “Ripples of Life.” Now he brings his wry sensibilities to bear on this murdery mindbender, which he adapts, with a healthy disdain for boring stuff like “linear plotting” and “resolution,” alongside Kang Chunlei,...

Deadly flooding did not divert this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival from running its full course, with the event drawing to a close Monday with an award ceremony honoring Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy, India’s Natesh Hegde, and China’s Kong Dashan and Wei Shujun with top prizes.

Many anticipated that this fifth edition of the festival would be different, given the shifting role of its co-founder and leading light, director Jia Zhangke. He unexpectedly stepped down last year, only to recant and come back in the nebulous role of “chief experience officer” months ago.

Instead, this year’s iteration has been more memorable for the backdrop of historically heavy rains that have left at least 15 dead, more than 120,000 relocated, and an estimated 1.8 million people affected in the inland Shanxi province.

The show went on in Pingyao, even though some three dozen parts of the picturesque ancient capital...

Rediance is also involved in Anthony Chen’s segment of the omnibus film The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or contender Memoria.

Beijing-based Rediance has acquired two Cannes-bound Chinese films for international sales: Ripples Of Life from Directors’ Fortnight and Zhao Liang’s latest documentary I’m So Sorry.

Ripples Of Life marks the third Cannes outing for Chinese director Wei Shujun whose debut feature Striding Into The Wind was in last year’s official selection, while his short film On The Border received a special mention in 2018.

Ripples Of Life follows a big...