Pingyao film festival unveils its 2020 awards winners

A raft of awards for the 4th Pingyao International Film Festival were unveiled on Oct 16 in Pingyao county in North China's Shanxi province.

They consisted of 25 awards, including International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award, Roberto Rossellini Awards and Feimu Awards. 

Ren Zhonglun, vice-chairman of the China Film Association, was given the International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award, as his films won the Golden Lion Award twice at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy and six important awards at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

The Roberto Rossellini Awards -- set up by the Roberto Rossellini Foundation at the Pingyao festival -- aim to convey the famous Italian director's humanitarian spirit, by encouraging and rewarding outstanding new filmmakers and spurring the development of the art of film.

Meanwhile, The Whaler Boy -- a co-production from Russia, Poland and Belgium -- won Best Film and Serbian filmmaker Ivan Ikic won Best Director for his work Oasis. 

Fei Mu is one of the most influential directors in Chinese film history. With the authorization of his family, Fei Mu Awards launched at the Pingyao festival aim to carry on the director's aesthetic legacy, support promising filmmakers from Chinese-speaking regions and encourage the development of Chinese language films. 

The Best Film and Best Director winners of Fei Mu Awards were Mama by Li Dongmei and Wang Jing with his work The Best Is Yet to Come. 

This year's Pingyao festival ran from Oct 10 to 19 and screened 53 films from 24 countries.