Virgin Media Dublin international Film Festival is delighted to bring five new Irish films to the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival this June. John Butler’s Papi Chulo, which opened this years Virgin Media DIFF 2019, will be shown at the Chinese festival alongside Lee Cronin’s The Hole in the Ground, Paddy Breathnach’s Rosie, Carmel Winters’ Float Like a Butterfly, and Greta, the newest film from Neil Jordan.
Shanghai International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia with over 400,000 people attending the festival every year. The Irish Focus will give Shanghai audiences a taste of some of the most exciting films to emerge in Irish cinema in the last 18 months, reflecting the diversity of stories being told by Irish filmmakers.
Virgin Media DIFF Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys will introduce the films in Shanghai alongside director Paddy Breathnach (Rosie), actress Hazel Doupe (Float Like a Butterfly), director Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground), cinematographer Michael Lavelle (Float Like a Butterfly), and producer Claire McCaughey (Papi Chulo).
The Irish Focus season in Shanghai International Film Festival is supported by Screen Ireland and Culture Ireland.
We are really delighted to have this chance to showcase these six wonderful films in Shanghai. This is a great opportunity to bring these films to an exciting new market and show Chinese audiences the fantastic talent that Ireland has to offer.
Gráinne Humphreys, Director – VMDIFF
It’s quite an adventure to bring five Irish films to the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, we want Shanghai audiences to appreciate Irish culture through great films and filmmakers. We are also looking forward to the presentation of five Chinese films in the 2020 Dublin International Film Festival – it shows that when we build these bridges, great things can happen.
Xiao Wang, Director of the International Screening Department – Shanghai International Film Festival
Covering 47 cinemas and hundreds of screens across town, the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) runs from Saturday June 15th to Monday June 24th, and is bringing more than 300 films of all genres from China and abroad to Shanghai, including more than 40 official selections which will compete for various Gold Goblet Awards