Very Ordinary Couple wins new talent prize at Shanghai film festival

Singapore’s Wong Chen-hsi picked up Best Director for her film Innocents and Chinese director Liu Juan received the Jury Prix for Singing When We Are Young.

All three of this year’s Asian New Talent Award winners are female directors.

The jury lauded office romance Very Ordinary Couple as “a subtle, sensitive and truthful portrayal of life and people. It is well-made with confidence and professional directing skills. Through the very special eyes of the filmmaker we as the audience gradually walk into the story and are amazed by the subtle beauty that we have ignored in daily life.”

This year’s Asian New Talent Award jury was led by Chinese director and writer Lu Chuan. The international jury was made up of Aruna Vasudev, Choi Dong-hoon, Gary Kurtz and Laura Weissbecker.

They complimented Best Director winner Wong Chen-hsi for her “superb control of storytelling and performance throughout the film. She uses ingenious devices to create a unique pace and rhythm which embodies powerful messages.”