"Water for Elephants" poster [Photo: douban.com]

Director Francis Lawrence's latest romantic drama "Water for Elephants" starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson will open the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The opening ceremony is bound to be a spectacular with over 300 celebrities from home and abroad walking the red carpet.

Among them are media mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng; Hollywood star Susan Sarandon, Matt Dillon, and Mischa Barton; director John Woo and Feng Xiaogang; and of course Barry Levinson. Levinson is the president for the seven-member jury for the Golden Goblet Awards.

The ceremony will be held at the Shanghai Grand Theater at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday, June 11.

Over the past five years the Shanghai industry's growth has exploded in terms of quantity with this growth accompanying a rise in movie-going culture in China.