Tickets for the Film Panorama of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) went on sale a few days ago. Did you get tickets for your favorite films? This year marks the grand comeback of the SIFF with unprecedentedly long film lineup. The Film Panorama, comprised of dozens of sections, such as the SIFF Classics and World Debut, is screening more than 400 high-quality films from around the world.

When going through SIFF’s lineup, you’d notice many familiar titles that were screened at the BJIFF in April. After fierce ticket grabbing of the BJIFF, let’s take a close look at films that you missed at the BJIFF but you definitely shouldn’t at the SIFF.

First of all, The Shadowless Tower is the winner of five awards at the BJIFF, such as the Best Artistic Contribution and Best Actor, and latest film by director Zhang Lu. The story takes place in Beijing, which many viewers at the BJIFF found amicable. Sure it will give a glimpse of the appealing Beijing to viewers at the SIFF.

Besides, there are Totem and Driving Madeleine that shined at the Tiantan Awards Ceremony. In particular, the Totem, second feature film by Mexican director Lila Avilés, won the Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Music; as for the Driving Madeleine, Line Renaud, the 94-year-old leading actress of the film, became the oldest winner of the Tiantan Award for Best Actress.

In terms of new films, it’s still hard to grab a ticket of the Aftersun and Close, just like the BJIFF. The Aftersun is a debut film by Scottish writer and director Charlotte Wells, who is based in New York. The leading actor Paul Mescal was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor; Close is a touching masterpiece and winner of the Jury Prize of the Competition section at the Festival de Cannes last year. It tells the story of youth between two boys.

In addition, news films that received good reviews at the BJIFF, such as the Mondays: See You 'This' Week! , become extremely popular at the SIFF. The light comedy offers much laughter based on the new time loop. It was rated as the best cinematic experience of the BJIFF by many viewers.

Moreover, internationally renowned and award winning masterpieces like Dalva and World War III are less unknown choices at the festival, the former of which focuses on serious and poignant social issues from women’s perspective while the latter tells a realistic tragedy on set.

Last but not least, the brand new 4K restoration of the valuable A City of Sadness was screened at the BJIFF. The producer, Chiu Fu-sheng, editor, Liao Ching-Sung, and Arthur Chu, senior filmmaker, visited Beijing, and shared filming stories with the audience present.

What’s more, the 4K Restoration section, where A City of Sadness is included, has been prioritized by the BJIFF and SIFF in recent years. Ultimate classics in SIFF’s lineup, such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather and The Last Emperor, were screened at previous BJIFFs. This year, both the BJIFF and SIFF launched the WB 100 section. Despite different lineup, masterpieces like Gone with the Wind are certainly not to be missed.

It’s worth mentioning that the BJIFF and SIFF pay tribute to masters through in-depth presentation of domestic and international masters’ creative experiences, style and characteristics to the audience.

Among five masters that the SIFF honors, director Pema Tseden, who passed away recently, attracts the most attention. He was an old friend of the BJIFF, and he’d been to the BJIFF in various roles. At the 13th BJIFF that just closed at the end of April, he chaired the international jury of the Forward Future Section and supported young directors.

This year, SIFF’s “Tribute to Masters” section is presenting a retrospect of six essential films by Pema Tseden, namely The Silent Holy Stones, The Search, The Sacred Arrow, Tharlo, Jinpa and Balloon, in memory of him.

Pema Tseden at the Forward Future Honorary Award Ceremony

As for the other four masters, namely Mike Leigh, Xie Jin, Juzo Itami and Jean-Luc Godard from China and around the world, their classics were also screened at previous BJIFFs, and are likely to be screened at the BJIFF again.

Interestingly, as indicated in the first day sales report issued by the SIFF, Beijing purchased the most tickets right after Shanghai, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, which somehow shows strong support from loyal film fans for the two major film festivals in China.

In short, as two of the most popular and largest film festivals in China, the BJIFF and SIFF are one-of-its-kind and complementary. While the BJIFF keeps the promises—"Let’s enjoy the best films in Beijing this spring”, SIFF offers indeed grand film feast in summer.