SHANGHAI, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Marco Muller, an Italian producer, film critic and judge for the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) Golden Goblet Award, talked with Russian director Alexander Sokurov via video link in Shanghai earlier this week.
During the dialogue, Muller shared how he and his Russian peer forged a transnational friendship and their views on many films at the festival.
Since Muller brought the Italian film "The Solitude of Prime Numbers" to China many years ago, an increasing number of excellent Italian films have been shown in China.
This year, 30 Italian films will be shown at the ongoing 24th SIFF, including "Fort Apache," a documentary directed by Ilaria Galanti and Simone Spampinato, and shortlisted for the Golden Goblet Award films.
This year, eight Italian films will pay tribute to the Italian Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone. The films include "A Fistful of Dollars," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "The Legend of 1900," and "Once Upon a Time in the West."
The SIFF is a competitive global event founded in 1993 and driven by Shanghai's efforts to become an international cultural hub.
More than 400 domestic and foreign films will be screened at this year's event, which is to run until June 20, including 73 world premieres.
At this year's SIFF, the "Belt and Road Film Week" unit was held outside Shanghai for the first time. It took place in five cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, including Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou. The unit has received a good response from the audience, according to the organizer. Enditem