The 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) kicked off with a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, attracting global stars and setting a new record with 3,900 film submissions from 119 countries.

The SIFF this year is buzzing with anticipation, with a dazzling lineup of 11 world premieres in the main competition alone.
This unprecedented global reach is all the more evident as global stars and industry professionals descended on the red carpet prior to the opening ceremony.

"I was here last year, so it wasn't that long a time ago, and we loved it. Actually we were planning to come again and then we knew that our film got selected so we got really happy!" said Antonio Ferreira, director of intimate drama, The Scent of Things Remembered.

With a mission to connect cultures, the 10 day event will also be packed with hard-hitting discussions among international filmmakers. For many of them, traveling to Shanghai for the event provided the opportunity to seek inspiration from China and the city.

"If we were to do something about China, maybe it would be about diversity because our film is also about the subject of diversity. I think there are so many mixed people and also mixed cultures, especially in Shanghai. You see every color of the skin. Blue eyes, brown eyes, different language. This is what we like and also diversity in every other concern," said Andrea Ufer, producer of film Luisa, a drama.

The festival, featuring over 400 domestic and international films screened across Shanghai, will run till June 22.

This year marks the 130th anniversary of world cinema and the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema. The event's Film Panorama will initiate a special section titled "Resonance: A Brief Encounter of Chinese and World Cinema," emphasizing mutual learning and growth between Chinese and international film industries.

Twelve films from Asia, Europe, and Latin America headline the festival's main competition. The Jury is led by renowned Italian film director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore.

A series of events, including Belt and Road Film Week and Sci-fi Film Week, will also take place during the festival.

Founded in 1993, SIFF is a prestigious global event, driven by Shanghai's ambition to become an international cultural hub. The festival has garnered growing international attention thanks to China's flourishing film market.