The Shanghai International Film Festival’s main jury wore its heart on its collective sleeve Saturday night, giving the top Golden Goblet prize to first-timer Zhong Kaifeng’s Atlantic Rhapsody and revealing they had all been “captivated and impressed” by the director’s bold approach to moviemaking.
At the start of this year’s June 12-21 event, jury head and Hong Kong legend Tony Leung Chiu-wai had revealed that early conversations among his group — which included directors Guan Hu, Aktan Arym Kubat, Déa Kulumbegashvili and Fernanda Valadez, producer Dora Bouchoucha and actress Xin Zhilei — had found them unanimous in a desire to look for “surprises.”
And the 29-year-old Zhong certainly delivered on that with his debut, which circles around a young man (Wang Yitong) searching for a father who left his home in the far north as China turned into the 2000s, looking for the riches offered by the industrial boom down south. The film plays with memories, and with time, as the young man searches for meaning — and it left critics here divided. Not so the jury.
“Through a bold experimental approach, the director explores the absurdity of human life, while the outstanding cinematography and editing create a uniquely compelling visual experience,” the jury statement read — and Zhong appeared overwhelmed when the news was read out at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
