Shanghai-born Wong Kar-wai heads up the international competition jury for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival(SIFF), replacing the late Anthony Minghella.

Sixteen films compete for the festival's main Jin Jue Award, which is heavy on European entries. Local films are represented by Hasichaolu's Urtin Duu and Gao Qunshu's Old Fish (a.k.a. Nick Of Time) young directors whose careers have been nurtured by the festival.

Wong'sfellow jury members are German producer Ulrich Felsberg, Danish director Bille August, Israeli writer Gila Almagor, Japanese actress Kaori Momoi, Chinese actress Joan Chen and Chinese director Huo Jianqi.

Ten first-time directors compete for the Asian New Talent Award. Their films include local black comedy Lucky Dog, Singapore relationship drama Gone Shopping and Taiwan youth drama Exit No. 6.

Ulrich Gregor, former head of the Berlinale Forum, is president of the Asian awards jury.

SIFF will screen 290 movies in 27 cinemas across Shanghai. The event offers the rare opportunity to see new Chinese films with screenings of 66 local features from among the 402 films officially produced last year. It also includes tributes to Shaw Brothers classics and to Anthony Minghella.

While there are no North American films in competition, the Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood and Matt Reeves' Cloverfield are among films screening in the festival, an important gateway for producers seeking Chinese distribution.

Jin Jue Award competition films

+1 (Russia) Oksana Bychkova

8 Days To Premiere (Finland) Perttu Leppa

Forever The Moment (South Korea) Yim Soon-rye, South Korea

The Friend (Switzerland) Micha Lewinsky

Loss (Lithuania) Maris Martinsons

Love By Accident (Argentina) Ines Braun

Mukha (Russia) Vladimir Kott

My Mother's Tears (Germany) Alejandro Cardenas-A

Old Fish (China) Gao Qunshu

Paris (France) Cedric Klapisch

Second-Hand Wedding (New Zealand) Paul Murphy

The Taste Of Fish (Japan) Shingo Matsubara

Urtin Duu (China) Hasichaolu

Vaclav (Czech Republic) Jiri Vejdelek

The Viceroys (Italy) Roberto Faenza

Women's Conspiracies (Greece) Vassilis Vafeas

Asian New Talent Award competition films

Lucky Dog (China) Zhang Meng

Kagbeni (Nepal) Bhusan Dahal

Ganglamedo (China) Dai Wei

18 Grams Of Love (Singapore) Han Yew Kwang

Gone Shopping (Singapore) Li Lin Wee

Exit No. 6 (Taiwan) Lin Yu-hsien

Kei Doro (Japan) Kazuya Hayashi

Thirsty, Thirsty (South Korea) Hong Hyeon-gi

Off Road (South Korea) Han Seung-ryong

Winds Of September (Taiwan) Tom Lin

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