China's 'Atlantic Rhapsody' Wins Best Film at Shanghai
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- "Atlantic Rhapsody" (China), directed by debut filmmaker Zhong Kaifeng and set in Northeast China, won Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography (Hao Jiayue) at the June 20 ceremony; lead actor Yin Fang described the central character as "someone who wanted to make a big splash but ended up being toyed with by the times."
- Morocco returned to the Golden Goblet's main competition after a 27-year absence with "Halima," earning Yassine El Idrissi Best Director and Khadija Amari — a veteran of smaller roles who had never previously anchored a feature — Best Actress; El Idrissi drew on his photojournalist background to craft the cannabis social-realist drama.
- Zhang Songwen, described as one of China's most prominent dramatic actors, won Best Actor for "Secret in the Box," a Chinese Mainland–Hong Kong co-production directed by Frankie Tam Gong-Yuen and a remake of Au Yeung Ping Keung's murder mystery.
- Thai debut "9 Temples to Heaven" swept Asian New Talent: director Sompot Chidgasornpongse (a 20-plus-year assistant to Apichatpong Weerasethakul on "Memoria" and "Cemetery of Splendour") won Best Director and Sompop Songkampol won Best Actor, months after the film's Cannes Directors' Fortnight world premiere.
- Turkey-Germany co-production "Night of Blindness" by Reis Çelik — the second in his planned Night Trilogy, set against the 1980 military coup — won Best Screenplay; Çelik said he hoped to illuminate "certain aspects of reality that are being downplayed and ignored."
- The ceremony opened with a musical performance and featured a Wing Chun sequence paired with a clip from Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmaster"; Tony Leung presented Best Picture before the closing film "The Decisive Moment," with Malaysian singer Shila Amzah performing "Reflection."
Why it matters: The 28th Golden Goblets distributed top prizes across at least nine countries — Morocco, Belgium, Turkey/Germany, Thailand, India/Germany, Bangladesh/Germany, France, Canada, and China — underscoring Shanghai's positioning as a globally sourced festival rather than a domestic showcase, while Zhong's double win (Best Feature and Best Cinematography) for a debut marks a notable new Chinese directorial voice emerging through the festival's world-premiere pipeline.
