'Final Payment' Wins Best Film at Pingyao Festival — SkimNews
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- Niu Niu's "Final Payment" won the Fei Mu Award for best film and best actor (Niu's father, Niu Jianrong, in his lead-actor debut), with the RMB1 million ($149,000) prize split between the director and the film's China distributor.
- Dong Jie's "Zoom In, Zoom Out" claimed both the Fei Mu jury award and the Cinephilia Critics' Award; Dong credited the work's "absolute purity of intent" in his acceptance.
- Rafiki Fariala's "Congo Boy" won the Roberto Rossellini Award for best international film and $20,000, with the jury citing its "simple style that echoes the great tradition of neorealism."
- Xu Zao won the Unitree best director award for debut animated feature "Light Pillar" (RMB200,000 toward his next film), while Sun Yi took best actress for Wang Xiaozhen's "A Joke."
- Rafael Manuel won best director for "Filipiñana," executive produced by Jia Zhangke and acquired by Unknown Pleasures for Greater China, and Lenti Liang's "Our Secrets" won best short film (sponsored by Nowness of Meta Media).
- Ann Hui received the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award, with Marco Müller, Han Sanping, and producer Tang Yan (founder of Hello Group/Momo) honored alongside her.
Why it matters: The 10th-edition lineup put a father-son domestic drama, a debut animated feature, and African and Filipino entries on equal footing with Jia Zhangke-produced titles, pointing to Pingyao's growing role as a cross-border arthouse platform rather than a purely domestic showcase. A jury willing to crown an inexperienced actor over established names — and to award a neorealist Congolese film the international top prize — signals curatorial risk-taking that Chinese state-backed festivals rarely display.
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