On the evening of December 5, 2025, the "Letters from Shanghai Film Group: A Film Festival Commemorating the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Chinese Cinema" opened at Shanghai Film City SHO. With the core concept of "Paying Tribute to Classics, Engaging with the Present, and Inspiring the Future," this film festival features a selection of Shanghai Film Group films, divided into five sections: "Classic Restorations," "Poetry in Film," "Opera Films," "New Works from Shanghai Film Group," and "The Chinese Animation School." The two-week festival will include seven pre-screening introductions and post-screening Q&A sessions, guiding audiences through the brilliance and enduring legacy of cinematic art.
Opening ceremony of "Letters from Shanghai Film Studio: Film Festival Commemorating the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Chinese Cinema"
A letter from a master of time travel
Xie Jin, Zhao Dan, Sun Daolin, Zhang Ruifang, Wu Yigong, Qin Yi... These are all resounding names, shining stars in the history of Chinese cinema, and also the leaders who have guided the continuous inheritance of Shanghai cinema.
At the film festival's opening ceremony, yellowed handwritten letters were reopened. These words, etched with the marks of their time, transcended time and space, and were read aloud with deep emotion by six artists, including Zhu Xijuan, Li Zonghan, and Zhao Jing, accompanied by the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra's string quintet. These letters from our predecessors were not only introspective reflections on their individual artistic careers, but also encapsulated the sincere dedication of a generation of filmmakers to the art of cinema.
Zhu Xijuan reads Xie Jin's "letter".
In a self-reflective letter written in 1999, director Xie Jin, a master filmmaker who dedicated his life to the craft, wrote, "You can be a little excited, but not too excited; you can be a little satisfied, but not too satisfied; you can be a little proud, but not too proud." Zhu Xijuan, who starred in his "Red Detachment of Women," is now an elderly woman with a full head of silver hair. She recalls Xie Jin's assessment of her: "You haven't wasted your years, you haven't squandered your youth," and expresses a deep sense of urgency for the future: "How much time do you have left to make films? Not another fifty years!" This creative passion, urging everyone to seize the day, is director Xie Jin's inexhaustible source of inspiration. Zhang Ruifang's realization during the filming of "On the Songhua River" that "truth is beauty, and the truest is the most beautiful," and her dialectical understanding that "actors should seek 'truth' in movement, not create beauty in stillness," remains highly relevant to acting today.
Following the "old tank" bicycle described by Shanghai Film Studio director Sun Daolin, who traveled to the studio year after year, audiences can still feel his simple yet solid happiness and responsibility that "our films come from the people." Revisiting the spring-like happiness of Shanghai Film Studio actress Qin Yi recalling the studio's founding and the filming of "Farmhouse Fun," and hearing her say, "Constant exploration and pursuit are also a kind of happiness," audiences can also hear the honesty and candor of Shanghai Film Studio director Wu Yigong after "My Memories of Old Beijing"—"I was just thinking about how to honestly present these characters that I deeply love and sympathize with to the audience." Actor Li Zonghan leads everyone to experience the complete dedication of Shanghai Film Studio actor Zhao Dan in portraying "Little Broadcaster," remarking that "the most valuable aspect of this character's creative passion comes from life." These maxims, spanning half a century, still resonate powerfully today.
Liu Feng brought Sun Daolin's letter.
As the artists read the letters, the large screen on the stage simultaneously played video footage of the older generation of filmmakers. The interweaving of these precious images and words made the audience feel as if they were in the era when filmmakers used film to write their ideals.
The specially designed intergenerational dialogue segment brought the atmosphere to a climax. Six representatives of young Shanghai Film Studio's filmmakers joined veteran artists on stage, responding to the expectations of their predecessors from a contemporary perspective. "Film is passion, film is love, film is timeless, film transcends mountains and seas—film is belief!" The declaration of film shared by the young filmmakers and veteran artists was both a reflection on the past and a promise to the future.
Old Light and Shadow Resonate with Contemporary Times
On opening night, audiences watched the newly restored version of "The Crow and the Sparrow." The improved picture quality not only restored the historical feel, but the Shanghainese dubbing, performed by a host of well-known film and television actors including Hu Ge, Zhou Yemang, Han Xue, Ni Hongjie, and Chen Long, added a new warmth to the story. Some were moved by the everyday life of old Shanghai, while others discovered a contemporary resonance hidden in the dialogue.
Filmmakers, both established and emerging, jointly express their love for film.
The film festival features a diverse range of films, including: classic works revitalized through digital restoration such as *The Crow and the Sparrow*, *The Spring River Flows East*, *Big Li, Little Li, and Old Li*, and *Ashima*; poetic images such as *Spring in a Small Town* and *Old Tales of South City*; opera films such as *Dream of the Red Chamber* and *The Lock of the Jade Bracelet*, which blend opera singing and movements with cinematic language; films focusing on daily life such as *The Myth of Love*, *My Mother's Pain*, and *Wonton with Vegetables and Meat*; and *Shanghai Animation Film Studio Animation Short Film Collection*, including five short films such as *The Proud General*, *Pigsy Eats Watermelon*, *Little Tadpoles Look for Their Mother*, *The Snipe and the Clam*, and *Feelings Between Mountains and Rivers*, as well as classic works and latest creations from the Chinese animation school such as *Havoc in Heaven*, *Ranbiwa*, and *The Little Monster of Langlang Mountain*.
Filmmakers read letters
"The glorious achievements of Chinese cinema today are inseparable from the hard work of generations of filmmakers over the past 120 years," said Zhu Xijuan, one of the "Twenty-Two Great Stars of New China." She expressed a deep sense of responsibility for her generation, emphasizing the need to inherit the virtues and artistry of the older generation and pass them on to younger generations. Reflecting on reading director Xie Jin's letter today, she stated, "His wishes are something that our generation and the next generation of filmmakers are striving to realize; Chinese cinema will surely go global."
Zhu Xijuan
Actor Li Zonghan expressed his deep honor as a young and middle-aged member of the Shanghai Film Group to be able to recite a letter from his idol, Zhao Dan. He added that watching a film festival commemorating the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema in Shanghai, the birthplace of Chinese film, was a precious experience, and that "the spirit of cinema lives on, and so does the spirit of Shanghai Film Group."
Li Zonghan
Young actor Yuan Ting, representing the "reply" recitation team, shared his feelings about participating in the event: "Whether in the film era or the digital era, Chinese filmmakers' aspirations for light and shadow have never changed."
Zhao Jing, an actress from the Shanghai Film Actors Troupe, said with emotion: "Our generation has come to where we are today under the profound influence of the previous generation of artists. I hope that the younger generation of filmmakers can truly inherit the precious spirit and qualities of their predecessors."
This film festival is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Film Bureau, hosted by Shanghai Film Group, and organized by Shanghai Film Museum, Shanghai Film Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Film Technology Factory Co., Ltd.