THE ongoing 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) is holding its first sci-fi film week to showcase and pool wisdom for the country’s burgeoning sci-fi film industry. The event, starting Sunday, features forums and screenings of sci-fi movies from home and abroad, including classic Chinese sci-fi movies shot in the 1980s. Its main forum Sunday gathered many prominent sci-fi movie creators, including Guo Fan, director of China’s homegrown sci-fi blockbusters “The Wandering Earth” and “The Wandering Earth II.” Revealing plans about making “The Wandering Earth III,” Guo said his team would spend more time getting to grips with new technologies, including artificial intelligence technologies, which he said will be a game-changer in future moviemaking. The sci-fi film week will also release information about the country’s most prominent sci-fi movie projects in the coming years, said the organizers. The 25th SIFF runs from June 9 through 18. Nearly 450 films from home and abroad will be screened in 41 cinemas across Shanghai during the festival. Founded in 1993, the SIFF has attracted increasing international attention thanks to China’s booming movie market. China’s 2023 box office hit the 20-billion-yuan (US$2.8 billion) milestone in early May, earlier than last year, according to film data platforms Maoyan and Beacon. (Xinhua) | 