Skip to main content

Stars shine as film festival opens

Sunday, June 14, 2009 SHANGHAI: The stars came out in their hundreds for the opening of the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival at the Shanghai Grand Theater last night. More than 300 famous names from home and abroad walked the red carpet outside the theater.Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, in an elegant pink evening dress, received a warm welcome from local people and she told them: "I love you" in Chinese.Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi also attended with the crew of her latest romantic comedy "Sophie's Revenge." The festival's grand opening also attracted British heartthrob Clive Owen, American musician Quincy Jones, Italian actress Maria Cucinotta and Chinese action star Donnie Yen.Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle is chairing the seven-member jury panel this year. It also includes veteran Chinese mainland filmmaker Huang Jianxin, American actress Andie MacDowell, Hong Kong director Andrew Lau and South Korean producer Oh Jung-wan.After saying "hello" in Chinese, Boyle expressed his gratitude for the privilege to attend the festival. It was, he said, a wonderful platform to explore new talents."You're all important persons, but the most important person is not here," Boyle said. "There is a kid somewhere in China, or somewhere in the world who dreams of telling stories that we haven't imagined yet." Berry received an award for outstanding achievement in world cinema. Thrilled by the honor, she said she could only stay in Shanghai for 12 hours because she had a baby at home. "Otherwise, I would stay at least one week to discover the city's charms," Berry said, adding: "I will come again for next year's Shanghai World Expo."The award for outstanding achievement in Chinese cinema went to director John Woo.This year, 16 films are in competition for the festival's top prize, the Golden Goblet, including "Empire of Silver" by Chinese director Yao Shuhua and German filmmaker Christoph Rohl's "A Piece of Me."Veteran Chinese filmmaker He Ping's latest ancient war epic "Wheat" was the festival's opening film.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
Post a Comment
Read more

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo
Post a Comment
Read more

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.
Post a Comment
Read more