Yang Suiyi’s Karst and Ramon Zurcher’s The Sparrow In The Chimney took home the top awards at the eighth edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) on Saturday (September 28).
Chinese drama Karst won best film in the festival’s Fei Mu Awards, selected from the Hidden Dragons competitive section that comprises features from emerging Chinese directors. Yang’s feature directorial debut follows a cattle breeder who travels to a nearby town to seek treatment for her cattle as memories begin to flood back. The prize includes $142,000 (RMB1m), half of which is given to the director to develop their next project and half given to the film’s Chinese distributor.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Swiss dark family drama The Sparrow In The Chimney picked up best film in PYIFF’s Roberto Rossellini Awards, selected from the festival’s Crouching Tigers section of international titles. The film, which premiered last month in competition at Locarno, follows family members preparing for a birthday party as old traumas surface. Zurcher will receive half of the $20,000 prize while the other half is given to the film’s distribution company in China.
The Fei Mu Awards also saw the best director prize go to Tang Yongkang for his second feature Stars And The Moon while the jury award went to Xu Lei’s father-son drama Green Wave Xu Chaoying collecting best actor for his performance in the film. Jiang Zhuojun was named best actress for her role in Zhou Quan’s Betwixt And Between.
Further prizes in the Roberto Rossellini Awards included best director for France’s Boris Lojkine for The Story Of Souleymane, which won the Un Certain Regard jury prize at Cannes in May; the jury award for Neo Sora’s Japan-US feature Happyend, following its recent premiere at Venice; and a special mention for India Donaldson’s US coming-of-age drama Good One, which played Sundance and Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
The honorary Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award went to Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige, whose restored version of Yellow Earth screened at the festival to mark its 40th anniversary; and Brazilian director Walter Salles. The International Contribution To Chinese Cinema Award was given to London-based filmmaker, critic and festival programmer Tony Rayns.
The festival, founded by filmmaker Jia Zhangke and located in the ancient city of Pingyao in northern China, runs from September 24-30 and opened with Liu Juan’s A River Without Tears.
On the industry front, the Pingyao Project Awards saw the grand award of $35,000 (RMB250,000) go to Almost Lovers, directed by Billy. The story centres on two urban characters and “breathes new life into the narrative of romance films,” according to the awards jury.
Winners: 8th Pingyao International Film Festival
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award
Chen Kaige
Walter Salles
International Contribution To Chinese Cinema Award
Tony Rayns
Fei Mu Awards
Best Film: Karst, dir. Yang Suiyi
Best Director: Tang Yongkang for Stars And The Moon
Best Actress: Jiang Zhuojun for Betwixt And Between (dir. Zhou Quan)
Best Actor: Xu Chaoying for Green Wave (dir. Xu Lei)
Jury Award: Green Wave, dir. Xu Lei
Best Short Film: Life Is Snow, dir. Zhang Yaoyuan
Short Film Special Prize: Reclaim My Summer, dir. Chen Hao-wei
Roberto Rossellini Awards
Best Film: The Sparrow In The Chimney, dir. Ramon Zurcher (Switz)
Best Director: Boris Lojkine for The Story Of Souleymane (Fr)
Jury Award: Happyend, dir. Neo Sora (Japan-US)
Special Mention: Good One, dir. India Donaldson (US)
Other
Youth Jury Award: A Song River, dir. Zhu Xin
Tong Ye Award: Tiger In Cages, dir. Wang Chuwei
Netpac Award · Best First Film: Floating Clouds Obscure The Sun, dir. Shen Tao
Cinephilia Critics’ Award: A Song River, dir. Zhu Xin
Best Student Short Film: Game Rule, dir. Chan Wing Ki (Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University)
Best Student Short Film Special Mention: Swimming At Night, dir. Li Nanhui (Beijing Film Academy)
Best Student Short Film Special Mention: See Off, dir. Zhang Peiran (The Central Academy Of Drama)
Pingyao Project Awards
Grand Award: Almost Lovers, dir. Billy
Selection Prize
Lady Swallow Against The World, dir. Miao Keyan
The Gifted Trumpeter, dir. Danny Yan
Not A Rom-Com, dir. Sylvia Wang
Perfect Wanted, dir. Ian Wong
Almost Lovers, dir. Billy
Creative Award: The Gifted Trumpeter, dir. Danny Yan
Humanism Award: Another Story About Love And Hope, dir. Chen Yanqi
Most Promising Award: The Wasted Flower, dirs. Lin Bixuan, Wu Boping
Audacity Award: Crazy Unemployment Paradise, screenplay: Xu Xiao, Ma Huaichang
Shanxi Project Award: Woman And Mother, dir. Wu Yuyao
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