The Chinese fest finalized its lineup Thursday, with Hollywood stars Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Hayden Christensen also scheduled to attend.

    NO one can accuse the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival of lacking in diversity or international appeal.

    The festival in China’s financial hub and most cosmopolitan city will open with the restored classic “Two Stage Sisters,” a film from 1964 about two actresses in pre-revolutionary China, and close with a movie from half a century later that is almost its total opposite — “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

    The festival has also announced the remaining four of 15 films competing for the Golden Goblet, and has added a few countries to the fest’s impressive checklist of international competitors.

    They are Brad Anderson’s “Eliza Graves,” a psychological thriller featuring Kate Beckinsale and Jim Sturgess, Yoon Hong-seung’s Korean action thriller “The Target,” Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden’s “The Sacred Arrow” and Aaron Wilson’s WWII jungle survival story “Canopy.”

    The jury at the fest will be led by Chinese actress Gong Li, the first time a woman has headed the jury and reflecting the festival’s theme of women in cinema.

    The jury also includes Korean director Im Sang-soo, British director Sally Potter, Danish director Lone Scherfig, Chinese director Liu Jie, Iranian actor Peyman Moaadi and Japanese director Shunji Iwai.

    The Shanghai fest is a major fixture on the Asian film calendar, and it attracts more attention every year, especially now that China is the world’s second-biggest film market.

    This year’s fest will see some big names from overseas, including Nicole Kidman, who will bring “Grace of Monaco” to the festival, and Natalie Portman, who will attend the closing ceremony.

    Also attending the fest will be Kirsten Dunst, Hugh Grant and Hayden Christensen, who features in Nicholas Powell’s “Outcast,” and Korean stars Rain, Son Tae-yeong and Song Seung-heon.

    Local talent scheduled to attend includes John Woo, Jiang Wen, Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, Li Bingbing and Gao Yuanyuan.

    The festival received an unprecedented 1,099 submissions for the Golden Goblet Award and 1,808 for the Film Panorama, organizers said, and will screen around 900 films in 35 theaters this year.

    The award ceremony June 19 will announce winners from 15 feature films, five documentary films and five animation films.

    The event will also hold a series of forums and exhibitions.

    The Shanghai festival is scheduled to run June 14-22. (SD-Agencies)