As previously mentioned, Shanghai's 11th annual International Film Festival kicked off this weekend (albeit not too smoothly) with an eclectic mix of movies showing all day and night at its 23 theaters. In a place like China that receives so small a selection of international features, this is an incredible opportunity to see works you otherwise wouldn't have a chance to catch in a theater. We only made it to two screenings, but both......

By Sue Anne Tay Tickets for the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival, which will be held from June 14 to 22, are reportedly on sale at 23 appointed star-graded cinemas across the city. Alternatively, you can call East Tickets 东方票务at 962388(24H) or visit their website to book tickets. The ticketing company says the full screening schedule will be released online in a day or so, and tickets will range from RMB30, RMB40 to RMB60. Some......

China's west swelters under record high temperatures. Westernmost China's Xinjiang region was under a blistering heatwave Sunday, with the mercury hitting as high as 44.8 degrees Celsius (112.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Turpan city, a local official said. Analysts warn China vulnerable to a Japan-style debt meltdown. Today, China could be ripe for a crisis of its own that might resemble the collapse of Japan's "Bubble Economy" in the early 1990's and have enormous global impact,......

The first rule that many foreigners hear about doing anything in China is that you will need guanxi - relationships that help you clear the jungly bureaucracy, receive preferential tax treatment, or "free" land. Of course, the follow-up rule that is never stated in polite company is that guanxi means money, a greased palm, a sop, and a board seat. However, as useful as some relationships can be, they frequently outlive their usefulness and......

Farrow to kick off torch relay to protest China's Darfur stanceActress Mia Farrow unveiled plans for an Olympic-style torch relay beginning this summer as part of a campaign aimed at shaming China into cutting support for Sudan over its role in the Darfur conflict. Analysis: At what cost the Olympics?With only a year to go until the Summer Olympics, advocacy groups worldwide are ratcheting up efforts to expose the dark side of China, from......

Hollywood actress Sharon Stone arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday night at Pudong International Airport. After passing immigration casually dressed in white slacks and a dark long-sleeved top, she was quickly driven downtown in a Mercedes Sedan to the JW Marriott Hotel. The Basic Instinct actress’s arrival in Shanghai comes four days ahead of this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival where she will be a member of the international panel of judges, headed by acclaimed Chinese......

Woman strangled and stabbed. A native of Hubei Province was charged with murder yesterday after Minhang District prosecutors allege Tian Qi, 27, strangled a woman with wire and then stabbed her with scissors because she refused to lend him money.Publicity toilet paper set to wipe out theft in Taipei. In a bid to deter roll bandits, the toilet paper would be sponsored by advertisers who will allow their names to be smeared for the public......

The tenth Shanghai International Film Festival starts on June 16, and as the time draws near, people have been wondering what actors and celebs will grace the red carpet on opening night. One report we've read says that Oliver Stone, Maggie Cheung, John Woo, and Stephen Chow will be among the stars that show up. A slightly more snarky report states that Sharon Stone will show up, which is great for we connoisseurs of older......

Shanghai agency seen playing the market "The Shanghai government agency responsible for clearing drains and repairing lifts in apartment buildings has emerged as a leading shareholder in at least three listed companies, in spite of being barred from such risky investments." For sale: A simple dwelling for plain folks. 3.75 million. "'Be a foreigner's landlord!' crowed one advertisement -- in Chinese only -- for buyers to invest in a new apartment block in a......

... because he's the head of the jury of the Shanghai International Film Festival, and yet managed to find time during this busy schedule to head up to Beijing to promote his new book and film. People have said that despite the SIFF not being the most prestigious or high-profile of film fests, Besson ought to have taken his job more seriously -- with all those films to watch, and a jury to head (the......

Shanghaiist just realized that the Shanghai International Television Festival is concurrent with and part of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Since most of the spotlight naturally falls on the silver screen, we thought we might check out who won what in the TV awards. One name that caught our attention was Emma Lung's -- she's a young Australian actress that starred in a TV film called Stranded and won best actress for this role in......

There are some blogging contests currently going on that Shanghaiist readers might be interested in: Best China Blogs (which has monetary rewards), the Asia Blog Awards and China's First Annual Original Videolog Contest.If, like this local "amateur model", you plan on stealing 24 items from the Zara on Nanjing Xi Lu, don't forget to cut out the smaller security magnets hidden inside the items in addition to the larger more obvious ones.Jackie Chan, Nicole Kidman,......

"Minor axis of evil" -- an elliptical (pun intended) statement by which we really mean China consorts with terrorists. Yes folks, this is what the US State Department spokesman implied through his comments regarding Iran's presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting. According to this spokesman, inviting Iran over casts doubt on the SCO's self-proclaimed mission of combating terrorism and extremism in the region. What's worse is that we are showing films from that......

It's been an eventful few weeks on the movie front as we dodge the shitty movies that get thrown at us left and right. Chinese audiences weren't too keen on The Da Vinci Code, in part because most of the people who had gone to see it had already read the book, and the plot of the movie hewed so closely to the book that there was little suspense as to what the conclusion would......

If you're like Shanghaiist, you like going to the movies. And if you're like Shanghaiist, you rarely go to the movies in Shanghai -- because, well, most of the movies that show here are crap. (And because you can buy 10 DVDs on the street for the price of one ticket to the theater.) Thank God then for the Shanghai International Film Festival, which concludes this weekend. Finally, we get some indie and art house......

If you are a foreign man on the prowl for a Shanghainese bride, we've got good news for you: kung fu star Jackie Chan isn't going to stand in your way. In fact, if you send him your contact info -- and a photo, we assume -- he might even hook you up himself. It's all part of his diabolical plan to dropkick the globe with Chinese culture. (His attempt to accomplish this through mediocre......