Time has been at a premium for Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen thus far in 2026. He’s been on the highway together with his newest manufacturing, We Are All Strangers, which bowed in competitors at Berlin in February earlier than opening each the Hong Kong International Movie Pageant and Italy’s Far East Movie Pageant in Udine in April.
The movie — a layered household drama — closes out what Chen calls his “Growing Up” trilogy, following his Cannes Digicam d’Or-winning debut Ilo Ilo (2013) and 2019’s Moist Season in delving as deeply into the rise and fall of relationships as into life in his house nation.
However now comes the Shanghai International Film Festival, and with it time to recharge — and possibly even mirror — as Chen serves as president of the Chinese language occasion’s Asian New Expertise jury. Ilo Ilo — and Cannes — kick-started his profession and lifted him into the worldwide movie business’s consciousness with the acclaim and awards that adopted.
So Chen is aware of the great that festivals can do. Alongside administrators Kamila Andini (Indonesia), Liu Jiayin (China) and Farkhat Sharipov (Kazakhstan), plus Taiwanese actress Wen Qi, he’ll have 12 movies from throughout the area — all from first- or second-time filmmakers — to evaluate.
As Chen defined on the eve of the pageant, the Asian New Expertise part wears its legacy proudly, with the likes of Chinese language hitmaker Ning Hao (Mongolian Ping Pong) and Japanese anime auteur Makoto Shinkai (The Place Promised in Our Early Days) unearthed by way of its competitors. He is aware of there could be powerful selections forward — however with loads of espresso at hand, he’s up for the problem.
Are you able to share your first impressions of the lineup for this yr’s Asian New Expertise competitors?
There are already a couple of titles and administrators which have caught my eye, so I’m excited. I can inform there will probably be some actual gems to find.
What’s the method you’re taking into jury obligation — do you analysis and dig round earlier than your screenings, or favor to know as little as potential?
Regardless of what I simply stated about being excited by sure titles, I really like to observe a movie chilly. I by no means learn evaluations or plot synopses. I prefer to be shocked. In order that’s how I’ll do it in Shanghai, simply as I at all times have. That stated, I take jurying very significantly. I’m not a giant espresso drinker, however I drink a whole lot of it after I’m on a jury, simply so I don’t go to sleep. For me personally, that’s primary respect for a filmmaker and their work, if you find yourself judging them.
In what methods did pageant screenings and awards to your early movies impression your profession?
I used to be very lucky. My first movie, Ilo Ilo, gained over 40 awards all over the world, together with the Digicam d’Or in Cannes and a number of Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. That basically launched my profession and opened so many doorways and alternatives. Which is why I really consider within the worth of movie festivals — they’re such essential launchpads for younger filmmakers.
What do you search for within the motion pictures you watch, and has this developed over time?
I like to be moved on a human stage, not in a tear-jerking, sentimental means, however in a profound means. These movies often make you mirror and ponder questions on your individual humanity. As a director myself, you can also’t assist however be drawn to masterful mise-en-scène and cinematic language. However the perfect ones are at all times people who perceive ‘less is more.’
What function do you see the Shanghai pageant taking part in in Chinese language-language and Asian cinema?
The Asian New Expertise part, specifically, is a shining instance of Shanghai’s function in discovering younger Asian filmmakers. In the event you take a look at the checklist of filmmakers who got here by way of this part, it’s fairly luminous. The late Pema Tseden — whom I miss dearly and admire tremendously — Ning Hao, Makoto Shinkai, Tom Lin are simply a number of the great abilities launched at Shanghai.
Any information by yourself work with the Chinese language business? Will you discover time to discover partnerships throughout the pageant and market?
I’ve a 12-part episodic collection that I’ve developed at my firm Giraffe Footage. It’s my first dive into the episodic world, and I’m enthusiastic about show-running this. We’re scheduled to enter manufacturing within the subsequent few months. It marries meals and household — common themes, but additionally what I personally worth lots. That is arrange as a Chinese language-Singapore co-production and I’m partnering [producer] Meng Xie once more on this, who labored with me on The Breaking Ice.
What in regards to the metropolis itself — is there someplace you at all times return to whenever you go to?
I like Shanghai. It’s one in every of my favourite cities on the earth, and so totally different from each different Chinese language metropolis due to its East-meets-West legacy. I like strolling down the tree-lined streets within the French Concession space, I by no means become bored with its old-world appeal. There are moments you may overlook and assume you’re in Europe. I like the cafes, the galleries, the style boutiques, every little thing. That’s why it didn’t take me lengthy to say sure to being jury president for the Asian New Expertise part.
