Media conference held at SIFF for shortlisted film 'Starfall'

A media conference for the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Award Main Competition shortlisted film "Starfall" was held on Friday.

Director Zhang Dalei had two films nominated at the festival and the other one was "Dream On," which was nominated for the Golden Goblet Award in the short film category.

Facing difficulties in his life and career, Lao Zhang (portrayed by Liang Jingdong) wants to drive to the desert and take a break. Unexpectedly, he meets some strange people along the way. What happens next puts him in a trance, making it difficult to distinguish reality from dreams.

"This movie is about a story on the road to the land of the ideal," Zhang told the press. "It originally had a prototype, a model entrepreneur in Shaanxi.

"But I think a movie needs to be created, it can't just be a shot of whichever archetypal character. I tried in this movie to find stories that would express both myself and the theme.

"All in all, I wanted to tell the story of a group of people who are very clumsy in holding on to their ideals."

At the conference, Zhang seemed so excited and nervous that he left his seat several times and ended up sitting on the stage.

The theme that this movie wants to express is the director's pursuit of himself. When asked how he felt about having two films shortlisted at SIFF, he did not show any complacency.

"In fact, both feature films and short films are the same for me, they are both an opportunity to create my own film. I'm willing to try when I have a chance to create. I don't have any big ideals either, as long as I can always stick to making movies according to my own ideas."