Given that FIRST International Film Festival is China’s leading cutting-edge independent film event, expect it to bring surprises.
But no one saw Sunday night coming.
When announcing the best feature film at the Cannes Film Festival, the FIRST jury was led by Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Hu (black dog)—Jaws dropped when people inside the Qinghai Grand Theater in Xining said they had decided not to name it at all.
The jury stated: “The responsibility of the film festival is to collect groundbreaking and cutting-edge works, to discover those who have set foot on the shores of the future, and to honor those creators who update dogma through aesthetics and explore new worlds through practice.” Read.
“Looking at the film landscape this year, there are many types, but there is no outstanding work; many people are making steady progress, but there is a lack of people who open up new horizons. Therefore, the jury decided that the honor of best feature film this year is vacant, and is full of expectations and expectations for the future confidence.
As the nine-day event came to an end, there were a few screams, a few seat movements and sideways glances, but there was also a lot of applause. It was also a fittingly mysterious ending for a festival that prides itself on introducing the latest trends and talent in Chinese cinema.
The focus therefore turned to the Grand Jury Prize and the film which the jury described as “sharp and razor-sharp, with a powerful sensory impact”. — Chen Yanbin’s The song of sailing in June.
Set in Guizhou Province, a cultural melting pot in the mountains of southwestern China, the film blends local mythology with a harsh reality shrouded in crime.
“The characters, storytelling, performances and editing work together to build a town world full of desire and power,” the jury said. “Their inherent creative spirit is decisive, brave and determined, representing the strong vitality of emerging creators.”
The director said he wanted his film to reflect contemporary society in his hometown.
The Best Director Award went to Baggio Jiang, who is still studying film and psychology at Stanford University for his debut film fragments.
The film is inspired by post-pandemic reunions, chronicling a dinner where family relationships slowly unravel.
fragments Described by the director as an “experimental story,” its narrative is inspired by the traditional Chinese porcelain reconstruction process of holding broken pieces together to create a new object.
The FIRST Film Festival also hosts a unique “First Frame” competition, which is open to films created by or about Chinese women. This year’s winner is a documentary unstoppablethe drama focuses on the three-year life of Chinese world mixed martial arts star Zhang Weili, a very popular athlete in China.
“I hope people can now see Wei Li not only as a person, but also as a warrior,” said director Xu Huijing, who joined the warrior on stage to accept the award on Saturday.
Sunday night’s awards ceremony was star-studded, with A-list stars Chang Chen, Wu Kanren and rising stars such as Zhang Jing gathered together. It kicks off the annual music festival held from July 20 to 28 in the central Chinese city of Xining, known as the gateway to the Tibetan Plateau.
See the full list of winners below:
Best Narrative Feature Film
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Jury Prize
June sailing songdirected by Chen Yanbin
best director
Baqiao Jiangwei fragments
best show
Huang Jingyi for fish bone
Best artistic originality
Jiang Gengzai small village
best screenplay
Huo Xueying and Zhang Yudi for midsummer sounds
free spirit
Fu Zongsheng for Chengzi_1
best documentary
i will find youdirector Meng Xiao
best short film
extracurricular activitiesDirector: Dean Wei, Xu Yidan
Best Animated Short Film
candydirected by Young-hoon
special mention
dreamer in the jungledirected by Tu Hailun
unstoppabledirector Xu Huijing
BaozhidaDirector Kran Abu Qasim
