Chinese director Zhang Yibai's latest romance, The Longest Night in Shanghai, premiered in the capital city at the Beijing Student Film Festival on Sunday night.
 
Japanese heart-throb Masahiro Motoki stars as a stylist plagued by doubts about his emotional life and his future. His world changes when he meets an equally troubled taxi driver, played by Chinese actress Zhao Wei, one dazzlingly beautiful night in Shanghai.

The characters in the film bypass their language barrier and forge a tender kind of love as they search for their own identities. As well as dealing with the complications of modern love, the film makes full use of the hilarity generated by the language barriers between the main two characters.

Unlike traditional romances, The Longest Night in Shanghai depicts the relationship that develops between two strangers from a third person perspective.

A number of English songs are included in the soundtrack.
 
The movie is one of the few purely commercial films Zhao Wei has appeared in, but she says she has never been too particular about preserving her "artistic" reputation. The audience applauded her performance.

"I think that is Zhao Wei's best performance. She is an attractive woman in the movie," Director Zhang Yibai concluded during the press conference after the movie.

Zhang also said he looks forward to more international cooperation in the film industry, especially with other Asian countries.
 
"The movie is a good example of a model Asian movie. China, Japan and Korea can form good cooperation on movies in the future."

Zhang Yibai's movie Spring Subway won Most Popular Film of the 9th Beijing University Students' Film Festival in 2002.

As he faced the warm applause of the audience, Zhang Yibai spoke warmly of the Beijing Student Film Festival.

"The Beijing Student Film Festival is encouraging me and providing me with confidence. The students' passion inspires me to keep shooting."

"It is a great movie. It combines romance and a little sadness," one student from Beijing Normal University said.

The 14th Beijing Student Film Festival will show 35 Chinese movies over the course of its competition.

The New Asian Film unit will feature many films from Japan, South Korea and India. Forums on film academies will also be held during the festival.

Chinese director Zhang Yibai's latest romance, The Longest Night in Shanghai, had its capital city premier at the Beijing Student Film Festival on Sunday night.

Chinese actress Zhao Wei played a Shanghai lady taxi driver in The Longest Night in Shanghai.

Japanese heartthrob Masahiro Motoki played the Japanese cosmetologist, who broke through the language barrier and succeed in communicating at the end.

Hundreds of students were waiting to see  The Longest Night in Shanghai at the Beijing Student Film Festival on Sunday night.

(CRI.cn April 16, 2007)