Taiwanese director Shen Ko-shang’s “Deep Quiet Room” claimed the top honor at the 9th Pingyao International Film Festival, the Fei Mu Award for best film, along with a cash prize of RMB1 million ($137,000).
Half of the prize will support Shen’s next project, while the other half goes to the film’s Chinese distributor. The jury praised the film’s “solid narrative and incisive expression,” noting how “the director brilliantly controls the rhythm, and advances the story layer by layer until it reaches its profound core.”
Joseph Chang took home the Fei Mu Award for best actor for his performance in “Deep Quiet Room,” portraying a husband navigating family trauma. The jury highlighted his “nuanced depiction” that “lays bare the character’s complex transformations at each stage.” The Fei Mu Awards, for emerging filmmakers making films in the Chinese language are disbursed to selections in the festival’s Hidden Dragons strand.
Zhang Zhongchen won best director in the Fei Mu Awards for “Nighttime Sounds,” with the jury noting his journey “from a guard in a film academy” to “self-taught director” who “composes a poem with his lens.”
Ranice Tay earned the best actress prize for her role in “Amoeba,” directed by Tan Siyou. The jury described her as embodying “a new generation caught in the turbulence of adolescence, where fear coexists with courage.” Tan’s film proved a festival favorite, collecting three awards total: best actress, the Youth Jury Award, and the Cinephilia Critics’ Award. The Youth Jury noted it presents “the perspective of the youth, through which we can both see their situation, and value their bold expressions.”
Louis Vuitton, as a festival partner, presented jewelry and accessories boxes to the acting winners and Youth Jury Award recipient, “encouraging them to continue the spirit of Fei Mu’s artistic exploration.”
In the Roberto Rossellini Awards section for international films – the Crouching Tigers strand of the festival – Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake” won best film, receiving $20,000. The jury called it “a brilliant if harrowing portrait” of two Iraqi children in the early 1990s navigating “the absurdity of political oppression and the numbing brutality of war.”
Akinola Davies Jr. took the Rossellini best director prize for “My Father’s Shadow,” shot on 35mm film. The jury praised his “vibrant portrait of a Nigeria that is equally personal and political.” Yoon Ga-eun’s “The World of Love” received the Rossellini Jury Award for its exploration of sexual violence in a silent community.
Miao Zhuangzhuang’s “Daughters” won both the Tong Ye Award and the Netpac Award for best first film. The filmmaker from Yangquan, Shanxi, received praise for creating “an intimate film that, in a quiet way, reveals deep inner conflicts and love within a family.”
Qi Yanyan’s documentary “The Toddling Youths” received the Fei Mu Jury Award. The jury noted that “through a panorama of settings and interactions, ‘The Toddling Youths’ captures the journeys and decisions of youth, and reveals vibrant characters of truth.”
In the short film categories, Chu Hoi Ying’s “After the Cat” won the Fei Mu Award for best short film, while Li Longjianhui’s “Quick Pause, Quick Breath” from the Central Academy of Drama took best student short Film. Special mentions went to Liu Canwen’s “I Wanna Fly” from Shanghai Vancouver Film School and Song Yibo’s “Downstream” from Beijing Film Academy.
The festival’s Pingyao Project Promotion section awarded development funds to emerging filmmakers. Wang Xiying and Wang Ruiyuan’s “The Songs We Never Sang” won the Creative Award and RMB150,000 ($21,000). Song Dongxu’s “Grassland Ska!” received the Humanism Award with RMB100,000 ($14,000), while An Jingyi’s “Good, Bye” took the Most Promising Award with RMB100,000 ($14,000).
Momo Pictures sponsored a screenplay competition, with Memet Emetjan’s “The Flower Seller” winning the grand prize of RMB250,000 ($35,100). Five projects received Momo Sky Selection Prizes of RMB50,000 ($7,000) each: Ravine Yang’s “Girl Crush,” Qi Linlin’s “Take It Easy,” Ma Huaichang and Xu Xiao’s “The Killer Has No Weekend,” Guo Qianhui’s “Three-Life Stone,” and “The Flower Seller.”
The festival also presented lifetime achievement honors, including the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award to filmmaker Feng Xiaogang and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami, and the International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award to Busan International Film Festival co-founder Kim Dong-ho.
COMPLETE WINNER LIST:
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award
Feng Xiaogang
Teruyo Nogami
International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award
Kim Dong-ho
Fei Mu Awards (Hidden Dragons)
Best Short Film: “After the Cat,” dir. Chu Hoi Ying
Best Film: “Deep Quiet Room,” dir. Shen Ko-shang
Best Director: Zhang Zhongchen, “Nighttime Sounds”
Best Actress: Ranice Tay, “Amoeba,” dir. Tan Siyou
Best Actor: Joseph Chang, “Deep Quiet Room,” dir. Shen Ko-shang
Jury Award: “The Toddling Youths” (documentary), dir. Qi Yanyan
Roberto Rossellini Awards (Crouching Tigers)
Best Film: “The President’s Cake,” dir. Hasan Hadi
Best Director: Akinola Davies Jr., “My Father’s Shadow”
Jury Award: “The World of Love,” dir. Yoon Ga-eun
Youth Jury Award
“Amoeba,” dir. Tan Siyou
Tong Ye Award
“Daughters,” dir. Miao Zhuangzhuang
Netpac Award – Best First Film
“Daughters,” dir. Miao Zhuangzhuang
Cinephilia Critics’ Award
“Amoeba,” dir. Tan Siyou
Best Student Short Film
“Quick Pause, Quick Breath,” dir. Li Longjianhui (Central Academy of Drama)
Special Mention: “I Wanna Fly,” dir. Liu Canwen (Shanghai Vancouver Film School)
Special Mention: “Downstream,” dir. Song Yibo (Beijing Film Academy)
Pingyao Project Promotion Awards
Creative Award: “The Songs We Never Sang,” screenwriters Wang Ruiyuan/Wang Xiying, directors Wang Xiying/Wang Ruiyuan
Humanism Award: “Grassland Ska!,” screenwriter/director Song Dongxu
Most Promising Award: “Good, Bye,” screenwriters An Jingyi/Xie Liyi, director An Jingyi
Momo Sky Grand Award
“The Flower Seller,” screenwriter/director Memet Emetjan
Momo Sky Selection Prize
“Girl Crush,” screenwriter/director Ravine Yang
“Take It Easy,” screenwriter/director Qi Linlin
“The Killer Has No Weekend,” screenwriters Ma Huaichang/Xu Xiao
“Three-Life Stone,” screenwriter/director Guo Qianhui
“The Flower Seller,” screenwriter/director Memet Emetjan
