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Shanghai International Film Festival Kicks Off

Cinema lovers in China celebrated their own festival this month with hundreds of celebrities from home and abroad, as the Shanghai International Film Festival kicked off Saturday night.

"-Hi, I'm Halle Berry.
-Nihao, I'm Danny Boyle, director of "Slumdog Millionaire."
-Hi, this is Annie MacDowell. This time I'm going to be on the jury, so I'm really looking forward to that."

What brought these most-sought-after celebrities together is not the Berlin or Cannes film festivals, but the Shanghai International Film Festival, or SIFF. Starting from Saturday, Chinese filmgoers will be treated to the most lavish cinematic feast of the year.

Tang Lijun, the festival's spokesperson, talks about the highlights.

"What's highly anticipated is that audiences will be able to watch those fantastic movies from 79 countries and regions around the world. The star-studded cast on the red carpet is another highlight. There will be about 300 stars taking part, including Halle Berry, Quincy Jones and Zhang Ziyi."

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Shanghai International Film Festival has become one of the fastest growing cinematic events in the world. Each year, the festival draws a growing number of international filmmakers and investors looking to enter the Chinese film market.

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle is chairman of the jury at this year's film festival.

"It certainly becomes an incredible place to launch a film, because you can start a film here and release it throughout the nation and throughout Asia. And also you hear about the provision of digital cinema in China. It's groundbreaking, and that's the future."

The week-long festival would include Film Competitions, Film Forums, among others.

As the most eye-catching part of this film festival, the competition section of the festival will cover nearly 2,000 films from all over the world.

The film "Wheat," the latest production by Chinese director He Ping, has premiered as the opening film to this year's event. Insiders regard it as one of the most anticipated films of the year.

The event lasts until next Sunday.