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The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), which runs until June 21, has launched a special program this year that links Chinese films with domestic travel. The "Grand Landscape: A Cinematic Portrait of China" section features 15 films from different eras, each selected partly because it highlights a unique region of China.
This effort is part of a larger trend that has grown in recent years. For example, the Lunar New Year film "Pegasus 3" attracted visitors to Qinghai province. Hotel bookings in Delingha, where the movie was filmed, rose 71% during the February holiday, according to travel platform Qunar. The recent hit "Dear You," a family drama set in three cities in eastern Guangdong, has had a similar impact. Since its release in late April, flights to Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang have reportedly doubled.
China's film and tourism officials are working to formalize this connection. The China Film Administration (CFA) has supported campaigns like "Taste cuisine with films" and "Shopping with films" as part of the film-plus strategy. This approach aims to use the success of movies to boost the broader domestic economy.
A recent report from the CFA found that every yuan earned at the domestic box office creates 15.77 yuan for other industries nationwide, with tourism benefiting the most.
The SIFF's "Grand Landscape" program is part of this effort. The lineup features the 1960s musical "Third Sister Liu," known for its scenes of Guangxi in southern China, and Tsui Hark's 2014 action movie "The Taking of Tiger Mountain," set in the snowy mountains of Heilongjiang in the northeast. The program covers locations from the mountains of Tibet to the island of Hainan, and from the Yellow River in the north to the Yangtze in the south.
Freda Fan, senior manager of programming and screening at the Shanghai International Film & TV Events Center, which organizes the festival, said the program aims to trace a brief history of Chinese cinema through its geography.
"We were thinking of a way to present a brief history of Chinese cinema from a geography perspective, showcasing both the internal richness of Chinese cinema, cultural diversity and the intergenerational legacy of Chinese filmmakers," she said.
Fan admitted that 15 films cannot fully capture the country's diversity, calling the section "our little attempt to show the beauty and touching stories of the land by revisiting Chinese classics."
In addition to its tourism program, this year's SIFF is focusing on supporting the next generation of Chinese-language filmmakers. The festival opened with "Afterpiece," the first feature by Hong Kong director Keane T.K. Wong. This psychological drama was chosen to launch one of Asia's top film events.
Wong said he was surprised by the selection. "For a feature film debut to be selected as the opening film of SIFF is a high recognition of the film and a great honor for me personally," he said.
He also shared that the film was made possible by the Hong Kong government's Directors' Succession Scheme, which matched him with experienced producer Derek Yee.
This year, SIFF is helping new filmmakers through programs like the SIFF ING Young Filmmakers Program, the SIFF NEXT Film Project Training Camp, and the SIFF YOUNG × Shanghai Young Filmmakers Support Program. Industry veterans Joan Chen and Wen Muye are serving as mentor and juror for the last program.
The festival's Asian New Talent competition, known for highlighting new voices in the region, has drawn attention this year to films such as Zhang Hanyi's "Cassowary" and Wan Bo's "Strangers in the Mountain," both from China.
Jury president Anthony Chen said before the festival that "real gems" were expected to emerge from the competition.
The managing director of the Shanghai International Film & TV Events Center said talent development has become a defining pillar of the festival.
"Through a comprehensive support system encompassing industry programs, professional awards and overseas screening opportunities, SIFF has helped cultivate a significant number of outstanding Chinese-language filmmakers and films," she said.
The main competition includes films from 34 countries and regions. This year marks the first time in 27 years that a Moroccan film, Yassine El Idrissi's "Halima," is competing. Jordan and Saudi Arabia are also making their first appearances in the Asian New Talent section with Zaid Abu Hamdan's "Boomah."
For the first time in the festival's history, all films in the main competition and documentary sections are world premieres, according to Chen Guo.
The festival is also exploring how artificial intelligence is changing cinema. Seminars cover topics such as "When AI learns to create, what grounds cinema?" Chen Guo said SIFF has always paid close attention to "the intersection of art and technology" and that new digital tools and AI are giving filmmakers new ways to express themselves.
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