THEY came, they strutted, they wowed.
Shoppers at VivoCity were greeted with an explosion of glitz and glamour at the opening night of ScreenSingapore yesterday.
The opening ceremony of the inaugural eight-day film festival and business convention saw the guest of honour, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Yaacob Ibrahim, as well as Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, one of 60 ScreenSingapore ambassadors, walking down the red carpet.
Zhang, who last visited Singapore in 2009, flew in yesterday afternoon, amid a downpour that caused flash floods in some areas.
On the red carpet, looking resplendent in a black sequin Ralph Lauren dress and elbow-high gloves, she joked that, today, she hopes "to see the sun".
More seriously, she added: "I haven't come back to Singapore for the purpose of promoting a film in a while. This time, I'm back for something different and special."
She has just wrapped filming The Grand Master, the film about Ip Man by Wong Kar Wai.
When asked if she was disappointed that her last film, Till Death Do Us Part - starring Zhang and Aaron Kwok as Aids patients who fall in love - has not been screened here, she was sanguine.
"As long as fans love to watch movies, they'll find a way to watch them," she said.
Other celebrities who walked the red carpet were Taiwanese actress Anya Wu, who stars in Hong Kong horror film The Devil Inside Me - the film that opened the festival at VivoCity.
Hong Kong director Gordon Chan and some of the cast of his latest fantasy film, The Mural, also walked the red carpet.
Earlier in the day, the media gathered for a press conference at Capella Singapore. There, Hollywood producer Jon Landau, famed for his work on the James Cameron blockbusters Titanic and Avatar, lauded ScreenSingapore's efforts in bringing the world of film to this little red dot.
"The film industry is no longer about countries. It's a global business...and there's no greater growth potential than what exists in Asia today in the film industry."
He added: "For years, Singapore was the gateway to the world and Asia in shipping. I think it has the potential to be the same gateway to the world of cinema - (people in the film industry can) come here and access all that Asia has to offer."
Zhang will walk the red carpet once again on the closing night at Shaw Lido on Saturday, along with bigwigs such as Tom Hanks, Lee Byung Hun and Vanness Wu, for the Asia-Pacific premiere of Hanks' new dramedy, Larry Crowne.
The film event will see gala premieres of 11 films and sneaks at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, GV Plaza and Shaw Lido every day of the week.
Shoppers at VivoCity were greeted with an explosion of glitz and glamour at the opening night of ScreenSingapore yesterday.
The opening ceremony of the inaugural eight-day film festival and business convention saw the guest of honour, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Yaacob Ibrahim, as well as Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, one of 60 ScreenSingapore ambassadors, walking down the red carpet.
Zhang, who last visited Singapore in 2009, flew in yesterday afternoon, amid a downpour that caused flash floods in some areas.
On the red carpet, looking resplendent in a black sequin Ralph Lauren dress and elbow-high gloves, she joked that, today, she hopes "to see the sun".
More seriously, she added: "I haven't come back to Singapore for the purpose of promoting a film in a while. This time, I'm back for something different and special."
She has just wrapped filming The Grand Master, the film about Ip Man by Wong Kar Wai.
When asked if she was disappointed that her last film, Till Death Do Us Part - starring Zhang and Aaron Kwok as Aids patients who fall in love - has not been screened here, she was sanguine.
"As long as fans love to watch movies, they'll find a way to watch them," she said.
Other celebrities who walked the red carpet were Taiwanese actress Anya Wu, who stars in Hong Kong horror film The Devil Inside Me - the film that opened the festival at VivoCity.
Hong Kong director Gordon Chan and some of the cast of his latest fantasy film, The Mural, also walked the red carpet.
Earlier in the day, the media gathered for a press conference at Capella Singapore. There, Hollywood producer Jon Landau, famed for his work on the James Cameron blockbusters Titanic and Avatar, lauded ScreenSingapore's efforts in bringing the world of film to this little red dot.
"The film industry is no longer about countries. It's a global business...and there's no greater growth potential than what exists in Asia today in the film industry."
Zhang will walk the red carpet once again on the closing night at Shaw Lido on Saturday, along with bigwigs such as Tom Hanks, Lee Byung Hun and Vanness Wu, for the Asia-Pacific premiere of Hanks' new dramedy, Larry Crowne.
The film event will see gala premieres of 11 films and sneaks at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, GV Plaza and Shaw Lido every day of the week.
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