A fantasy extravaganza inspired by a Chinese ghost story opened the 15th edition of Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) on Saturday following a star-studded red carpet session and an extravagant opening gala.

"Painted Skin: The Resurrection" is a sequel to the 2008 blockbuster "The Painted Skin" which was reported to rake in 250 million yuan (US$39.3 million) in ticket sales revenue in China. The sequel, with featuring the return of some of the original actors like including Zhao Wei, Chen Kun and Zhou Xun and adding the increasingly prominent actress Yang Mi to its cast, discusses a cliché topic: which matters more for love, good looking or a true heart?

The one and a half hour red carpet session was surely star-dazzling with 400-strong filmmakers from China and abroad showing up, according to the organizers. They included Chinese heavyweights such as Feng Xiaogang, See-Yuen Ng and Tony Leung, and Hollywood stars like Aaron Eckhart, Famke Janssen and Heather Graham.

Hong Kong veteran actor Chow Yun-Fat was given the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema. After accepting a trophy from his peer, Jackie Chan, Chow thanked his producers and audience, whom he referred to as his "bosses". "Without the supports of my bosses, I could not live this long," he said jokingly.

The Outstanding Achievement Award went to Hollywood accomplished producer Mike Medavoy. The 71-year-old has produced over 300 films during his decades-spanning career, of which 7 won the Oscar for the best picture Oscars.

The Jewish producer said that Shanghai gave his parents shelter during the Second World War. Born in Shanghai, he referred to the city as his "roots." He said that it was the films he saw in his childhood in Shanghai that made him interested in filmmaking.

(China.org.cn, CNTV June 18, 2012)

周六晚，一部取材于鬼故事的魔幻大片揭開了第15屆上海國際電影節(jié)的大幕，隨后的紅毯儀式明星薈萃，開幕晚會也盡顯奢華。

《畫皮之重生》是2008年大片《畫皮》的續(xù)集，據(jù)報道，當年《畫皮》全國票房狂攬2.5億元。續(xù)集中，原來的演員陣容趙薇、陳坤和周迅回歸，人氣正旺的楊冪也強勢加入。續(xù)集的主題老生常談：對于愛情，美貌和真心哪個更重要？

一個半小時的紅毯儀式自然是星光閃耀。主辦方表示，有400多位國內(nèi)外電影人登上紅毯，包括中國大腕級人物馮小剛、吳思遠和梁朝偉，還有艾倫·艾克哈特、法米克·詹森和海瑟·格拉漢姆等好萊塢巨星。

香港演員周潤發(fā)拿到了華語電影杰出貢獻獎，成龍為其頒獎。從他的同行手中接過獎杯后，周潤發(fā)說制片人和觀眾都是他的“老板”，并感謝他們。他開玩笑地說：“沒有這些老板的支持，我不會活到現(xiàn)在。”

美國知名制片人麥克·邁達沃伊獲得了本屆電影節(jié)電影杰出成就獎。這位71歲的制片人在過去幾十年的電影生涯中，制作了超過300部電影，其中7部獲得了奧斯卡最佳影片獎。

他說，他是猶太人，二戰(zhàn)期間他的父母曾在上海避難。他出生于上海，因此他稱上海是他的“根”。他說正是童年時在上海看的電影激發(fā)了他對制作電影的興趣。