The star-studded First Chinese Film Directors Association Awards
were held in Beijing Tuesday evening, with more than 200 big names
from the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong on hand for the event.
The awards were launched this year in honor of the centenary of
the nation's film industry. Internationally acclaimed director Chen
Kaige assumed the chair of this year's 11-member judging committee,
which also includes celebrated filmmakers such as Lu Xuechang and
Jiang Wen.
The committee made its decisions during the Eighth Hong Kong
Film Directors Symposium, which ran from January 8 to 11. The
judges selected best director, best young director, best actor and
best actress. Another award is based on box office take, and a
recipient is selected for the special Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Tian Zhuangzhuang won the Best Director Award with his
spectacular documentary Delamu. The film was knocked out
of this year's Oscar competition because a version of it had been
broadcast on Japan's NHK television station before the 53-year-old
Tian considered submitting it for competition in any international
film festivals.
Li Xuejian defeated Fan Wei (The Parking Attendant in
July) and Ye Daying (My Father and I) to be named
best actor for his role as a retired father in South of the
Clouds. He said the prize revivifies him. Li is recovering
from nasopharyngeal cancer.
Zhou Xun took the Best Actress Award for her wonderful
performance in Baober in Love. Other nominees were Zhang
Ziyi (House of Flying Daggers) and Shu Qi (The
Foliage). In considering whether to go abroad to advance her
career, as her competitors have done, Zhou said that she would
consider the film itself rather than the filmmaking environment in
making that decision. "Arts and emotions are uniform all over the
globe. As long as your story is touching, the foreign audiences
will also love it."
Ke Ke Xi Li, a film about saving the Tibetan antelope
from poachers, won 33-year-old Lu Chuan the Best Young Director
Award. It was also the first movie from the Chinese mainland to be
named best film in Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards last December.
The Top Box Office Award belonged to director Zhang Yimou and
his epic blockbuster House of Flying Daggers. The biggest
hit of the year has raked in more than US$18 million.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to 66-year-old director Wu
Tianming of the Xi'an Film Studio. Wu won acclaim in the 1980s with
his Life (1983), Old Well (1986) and other
realistic works. As the head of the Xi'an Film Studio, he also
guided and supported many one-time new hands, such as Zhang Yimou,
Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang and He Ping. Wu's latest work is
CEO, made in 2002.
Best director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Best actor: Li Xuejian
Best actress: Zhou Xun
Best young director: Lu Chuan
Lifetime achievement: Wu Tianming
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao January 12, 2005)
