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.”
