Stonewalling wins Best Film and Best Actress awards at the Hong Kong International Film Festival

RejectThe film, starring Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, was the big winner at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and won three awards, including Best Film in the Young Cinema (Chinese Language) Competition of the Firebird Awards.

While HKIFF managed to hold some postponed but in-theater editions during the pandemic, this year marked the first time the festival welcomed foreign guests after Hong Kong dropped strict Covid quarantine requirements late last year. The festival ends today (April 10) and held the award ceremony with a screening of the graduation film, Cheuk Wan-chi sign of lifelast night.

Part of a trilogy focusing on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, Reject also won the Best Actress Award shared by the two female leads, Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui, who played mother and daughter, and also won the Fipresci Award.

The jury of the HKIFF Firebird Award praised the film for “reminding us of the confusion, difficulties and suffering women face today, and the inescapable responsibility they bear”. The movie debuted at last year’s Venice Film Festival and was later acquired by KimStim for distribution in North America.

Macau’s Hong Heng-fai also won the award for best director in the Young Cinema Chinese language competition Kiss the ground you walked onand the best actor award went to veteran actor Li Xuejian love again. A special mention went to Bad educationthe film debut of actor and director Kai Ko.

Mexican director Lila Avilés totem won the award for best film in the Young Cinema Competition (World), while the award for best director went to the Argentinian Martín Benchimol. The castle. Best Actor went to Mirko Giannini for France’s Astrakhanand best actress of the cast of Female Ensemble of Spain 20,000 species of beesS

In the documentary film competition, the Firebird Award went to the best film Apollonia, Apollonia, in which the Danish director Lea Glob traces her relationship with the French painter Apolonia Sokol. The jury prize went to Polish filmmakers Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski The Hamlet Syndromeabout a group of young actors trying to stage a play of Hamlet in Ukraine.

The Swiss filmmaker Morgane Frund received the Firebird award in the short film competition for her final project. Wearwhile the jury prize went on Smoke got into your eyesa black comedy by Singaporean director Alvin Lee.