By Liu Wei
BEIJING, June 23 -- Tibetan director Pema Tseden's The Search scooped the
Jury Grand Prix at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), which
ended on Sunday.
The film follows a director's search for a leading actor for his drama set
in picturesque Tibet.
Christina Yao's Empire of Silver, a mainland-Hong
Kong-Taiwan co-production about a young heir to a giant banking empire in 1899, took
the Jury Award.
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Tibetan director Pema Tseden
(c) holds the trophy for the Jury Grand Prix at the 12th
Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) on Sunday, June 21,
2009. Tseden's The Search scooped the Jury Grand Prix at the
12th film festival. (Xinhua Photo)
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The Golden Goblet Award went to a Danish-Swedish co-production, the comedy
Original.
The film, directed by Antonio Tublen and Alexander Brondsted, revolves
around a man who gets tired of living up to others' expectations and tries to
chart his own course.
Jury leader Danny Boyle described the film as "a light, touching and
subversive study of mental illness that is both compassionate and never
sentimental".
The film's leading actor Sverrir Gudnason was also named Best
Actor.
"I feel so good," he said. "This is the best thing that anybody has given
to me and will keep me going."
The jury said "this young actor's brilliant, sensitive and humorous
performance is absolutely mesmerizing".
The Best Actress award went to Danish star Simone Tang of Aching Hearts, a
film about two high school sweethearts.
Andie MacDowell, who presented Tang with the award, called her performance
"beautiful".
Czech filmmaker Julius Sevcik grabbed the best director award for his
suspense thriller Normal. "It is a big honor to me," he said. "My favorite
director is Wong Kar-wai. This award, actually, is for all the crew who worked
on this film."
American composer Quincy Jones was honored with a Lifetime Achievement
award. The creator of scores for 33 films plans to work with Chinese musician
Tan Dun on a theme song for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
The Best Screenplay went to the Italian film We Can Do That. South Korean
drama Rough Cut was honored for its music score. French film Nowhere Promised
Land won the Best Cinematography Award.
Hollywood thriller Angels & Demons, starring Tom Hanks and Ewan
McGregor, closed the festival.
Founded in 1993, this year's festival had a stellar cast, with
Oscar-winning Boyle leading the jury and Halle Berry and Ewan McGregor walking
the red carpet. Established actors, such as Michelle Yeoh and Isabelle Huppert,
were among the stars attending the closing ceremony. Huppert was also honored
with an Outstanding Artistic Achievement award.
(Source: China Daily)
