Born in the midst of China's reform and opening up in 1993, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) comes to its 21st edition with a lineup that includes classics as well as anticipated hits.

"In the past 25 years of sturdy growth, the Festival has been continuously innovating its organizing mechanism, and seeking maturity along with the rapid development of the Chinese film industry," the festival’s website statement reads. "Taking root in Shanghai, the cradle of Reform and Opening up, it is constantly attracting global attention."

This year’s festival will showcase 500 films from around the world. It will open on Saturday with a star-studded red carpet and the much-anticipated thriller “Animal World” by Chinese filmmaker Han Yan.

Chinese director and actor Jiang Wen will chair the seven-member Jury for the Fiction Competition of the Golden Goblet Awards, according to the statement.

The Jury for Documentary Competition will be chaired by Finnish director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and producer Pirjo Honkasalo, while the Jury for Animation Competition will be headed by French director Jacques-Remy Girerd.

The SIFF will hold a "Belt and Road Week" to enhance cooperation in the film among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Among the films to be screened in the “Film Panorama” category are the Japanese suspense movie “Laplace’s Witch,” and French filmmaker Agnes Varda's new documentary “Visages Villages.”

Some of the most-highly anticipated festival events include the China premiere of Palme d'Or winner, “Shoplifters,” and a special screening of the classic, “The Shawshank Redemption.”   

Written and directed by celebrated Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Shoplifters” is the story of a family of small-time crooks who take in a child they find on the street after one of their shoplifting sessions.

According to Kore-eda, this "family" struggling to survive is based on field research into Japanese poverty and inspired by an abused child.

“Shoplifters” got rave reviews for its compelling look at a family living on the margins. Variety magazine’s Maggie Lee wrote that Kore-eda “makes a mature and heart-wrenching return to his socially-conscious dramas.” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich said “Shoplifters” is “the very best of the writer-director’s delicate, deceptive, and profoundly moving dramas about the forces that hold a family together (or don’t).”

Film classic "The Shawshank Redemption" will also screen during the festival. It is the story of two imprisoned men who bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. The film was released in 1994. 

"The Shawshank Redemption" has often been the top choice on best film lists around the world. It is the number 1 film both on IMDB TOP 250 and Douban Movie TOP 250. 

"The Shawshank Redemption" was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1995.

Some other film classics playing at the festival are the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Rebecca” and the 1967 hit comedy “The Graduate;” the nature documentary “Chasing Coral;” Ingmar Bergman's psychological 1968 thriller “Hour of the Wolf” and works from the late Chinese film master Xie Jin.

The Shanghai International Film Festival runs until June 25.

(Cover image: The official poster for the Shanghai International Film Festival which opens June 15, 2018. /SIFF Photo)