Four British films were screened at the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2007.

Please see the details below:

1. Venus

Maurice and Ian are old friends, veteran English actors who never quite hit the bigtime. Now in their seventies, they continue to work (Maurice, for example, is playing a corpse in a television drama) but spend much of their time discussing their ailments over breakfast in a favourite café. When Ian's great-niece Jessie arrives from the provinces, she quickly tries her great-uncle's patience. But Maurice is taken with the girl, and proceeds to show her the cultural sights of the capital. Maurice tries to teach Jessie something about life, but in the process he is surprised to discover how very little he actually knows now that his own life is drawing to a close.

Year of production: 2006
Running time: tbc
Director: Roger Michell
Producer: Kevin Loader
Executive Producers: Tessa Ross, Daniel Battsek, Sally Caplan, Miles Ketley, Charles Moore
Editor: Nicolas Gaster
Screenwriter: Hanif Kureishi
Director of Photography: Haris Zambarloukos
Sound: Danny Hambrook
Principal cast: Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave

2. The Last King of Scotland

In an incredible twist of fate, a Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world’s most barbaric figures: Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). Impressed by Dr. Garrigan’s brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin’s savagery - and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.

Year of production: 2006
Running time: 128 mins
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producers: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steel
Co-producer: Christine Ruppert
Executive Producers: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Tessa Ross
Editor: Justine Wright
Screenwriters: Peter Morgan, Jeremy Brock
Novel: Giles Foden
Director of Photography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Principal cast: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson

3. I Really Hate My Job

I Really Hate My Job follows the lives of five women working together in a busy Soho restaurant who have little in common apart from their jobs. During the course of one evening, the women discuss every detail of their lives, from fear of getting old to dreaming of doing anything other than working in a second rate restaurant with delusions of grandeur. The customers come and go, unaware of the real concerns of the women: the restaurant's growing rat infestation, arguments about the nature of art, a communist rebellion in the kitchen… and the frenzied anticipation of the arrival of a famous Hollywood movie star.

Year of Production: 2006
Running Time: tbc
Director: Oliver Parker
Producer: Andrew Higgie, Dominic Saville, Matthew Justice, Alan Greenspan
Screenwriter: Jennifer Higgie
Principal Cast: Neve Campbell, Shirley Henderson, Alexandra Maria Lara, Anna Maxwell Martin, Oana Pellea

4. Life & Lyrics

Set against the backdrop of London's urban music scene, Life & Lyrics follows the journey of a south London DJ, Danny, and his crew as they battle on stage with their north London rivals. Life & Lyrics is also a story of unrequited love as Danny unwittingly falls for a singer from the rival crew, soon forced to realise the dangers and implications involved.

Year of production: 2005
Running time: tbc
Director: Richard Laxton
Producers: Esther Douglas, Fiona Neilson
Executive/Co-Producers: David Thompson, Jeff Abberley, Julia Blackman
Editor: Tracey Wadmore-Smith
Screenwriter: Ken Williams
Director of Photography: John Daly
Sound: Rupert Ivey
Music Supervisor: Liz Gallacher
Principal cast: Ashley Walters, Louise Rose

Screening Schedule

Cathay Theatre, Hall 2  VENUS 17 June 15:45

UME International Cineplex, Hall 1 VENUS 18 June 18:30

Shanghai Film Art Centre, Hall 2 I REALLY HATE MY JOB 19 June 15:45

Studio City, Hall 6  LIFE&LYRICS 22 June  15:45

Broadband International Cineplex, Hall 1  VENUS 23 June 18:30

Cao Yang Cinema, Hall 1  LIFE&LYRICS 16 June 13:30

Studio City, Hall 6  VENUS 16 June 18:30