As the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival gets underway, the spotlight is fixed on Hong Kong screen icon Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who presides over the Golden Goblet Awards as jury president. Leung’s presence, together with 12 world premieres in the Main Competition, marks SIFF’s distinction as mainland China’s sole FIAPF-recognized A-list festival.

“We have long admired Tony Leung Chiu-wai for both his artistic achievements and his international influence,” says Chen Guo, managing director of the Shanghai International Film & TV Events Center.

Leung received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2023. He joins a festival whose 2026 edition features more than 420 films selected from around 4,100 submissions across 125 countries. Chen says programming decisions were guided by two factors.

“Across all categories, our selection process is guided by two fundamental considerations: the values reflected in each work and its premiere status,” says Chen. “We also take into account factors such as geographic representation, as well as the diversity of filmmakers in terms of gender and generation, to reflect the diversity and inclusiveness that define the Awards.”

The result is an eclectic main competition mix that ranges from surrealist biopics from China to Moroccan eco-dramas and German absurdist comedies.

The festival has also taken advantage of several anniversaries, with sidebars paying tribute to British auteur Ken Loach on his 90th birthday and a joint retrospective marking Billy Wilder’s 120th birth anniversary alongside Marilyn Monroe’s centenary.

“As both anniversaries fall in the same year, and given the remarkable creative partnership between Wilder and Monroe […] we felt it was the ideal occasion to curate a joint retrospective,” says Chen.

Tributes to Chinese filmmakers include programs honoring Sang Hu on the 110th anniversary of his birth, Huang Zuolin on the 120th anniversary of his birth, and Shen Yaoting, who died last year.

SIFF is also running dedicated diplomatic sidebars. An Egyptian Film Week marks the 70th anniversary of China-Egypt diplomatic relations, while the festival continues to expand its Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance. “Curating themed programs for major diplomatic and cultural milestones is our long-held practice,” says Chen, adding that the initiative “builds a communication channel for filmmakers and institutions from both sides, transforming cultural showcases into in-depth, long-term industrial cooperation.”

On the talent development front, SIFF’s Three-Pillar system – anchored by SIFF PROJECT, SIFF ING and SIFF YOUNG – is designed to shepherd filmmakers from project incubation through to international exposure. The 5th edition of SIFF YOUNG has evolved into a prominent incubator for commercial Chinese-language cinema; hit filmmaker Wen Muye, a 2023 program alumnus, returns this year to chair its Final Recommendation Committee.

The festival has also carved out a significant portion of its events for cinema technology, including Imax, Dolby Vision and remastered 4K classics. “Premium theatrical formats offer a unique sense of occasion and immersion that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere,” says Chen. “The specialised sections dedicated to Imax, Dolby Vision and 4K restorations serve two complementary purposes. [They] allow contemporary films to be experienced at their fullest audiovisual potential, while restoration technologies enable classic works to be preserved and rediscovered by new generations of audiences.”

Chen was careful to temper the technology pitch. “We do not believe technology alone is what brings audiences back to cinemas,” she says. “Ultimately, compelling storytelling remains the foundation of cinema. Technology can enhance the experience, but great stories are what truly connect with audiences.”

That tension between art and science finds neat expression in the festival’s choice of bookend films, both Chinese. Opening film “Afterpiece,” directed by Hong Kong’s Keane T.K. Wong, is a moody meditation on art and performance centered on a failing director attempting to write and star in a new play to reclaim his dignity. Closing film “The Decisive Moment” is a sci-fi thriller about Chinese astronauts facing perilous emergencies on a space mission – a genre exercise that would not look out of place on any modern Hollywood studio’s slate.

SIFF runs through June 21.