The seventh Shanghai International Film Festival was clearly marked by the packed house that attended the screening of the Italian film in Competition : My Father by Egidio Eronico. The film’s director also attending the screening, was overcome by this warm reception, and had great words of thanks for the Chinese public. Adding to this great reception along with all the attention that Italian films have generated throughout the Shanghai Film Festival, it is not at all improbable that the director’s work will be considered for the final award.
In the discussion following the screening, the public ‘s attention was drawn to the 14 film titles that Audiovisual Industry Promotion brought to Shanghai. The Director of the Festival himself, Chen Xiao Meng, greeting the Italian delegation in attendance, said he hoped Italian cinema would continue to play a starring role in future Festivals, promoting the cultural ties between the two countries. During the series of meetings with the C.E.O. of Audiovisual Industry Promotion, Carlo Bassi, and the Festival Board members, there were talks on organizing in the next months, a week of Italian cinema in China, (Peking or Shanghai) whose program would include meetings with producers and distributors, selected in hopes of establishing future co-productions. The market of Shanghai showed signs of interest also for our national product. Infact Chinese television has already expressed interest in buying the film, Il più crudele dei giorni, by Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani, the tragic story of Ilaria Alpi presented in the “Panorama” section.