SIFF Special: Where Shanghai goes to the movies

2026.06.14 As moviegoers rush to secure tickets for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), the films are only part of the experience. Scattered across the city are cinemas that have witnessed generations of Shanghai audiences. Some date back nearly a century, from Art Deco landmarks designed by Hungarian-Slovak architect László Hudec to historic theaters that helped shape the city's cultural life.   The festival's screening venues offer a glimpse into that history. The Grand Cinema and Zhejiang Cinema remain reminders of Shanghai's golden age of moviegoing, while Cathay Cinema and the restored Majestic Theatre continue to connect the city's past with its present. Elsewhere, long-standing neighborhood theaters such as Donggong Cinema and Caoyang Cinema preserve traditions that have largely disappeared from modern multiplexes. At the same time, SIFF also showcases Shanghai's newer cinematic spaces, from Asia's only Dolby Cinema at Shanghai Cinema to the world's first LED giant-screen cinema at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Together, these venues tell the story of a city that has embraced cinema for generations. During SIFF, they become more than screening locations — they are part of the festival itself.