[March 31, 2009] The 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival today announced this year’s winning films at a Gala Awards Ceremony which celebrated the diversity of worldviews and perspectives. The Gala Awards Ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with noted Taiwanese director Cheng Yu-chieh, actress Sandrine Pinna and actor Chang Ruei-Jia amongst the guests in attendance.
With an aim towards promoting the film industry and to introduce films of world cinema to Hong Kong, the 33rd HKIFF again organized the film competition into four categories. These were the Asian Digital Competition, the Humanitarian Award for Documentaries, the FIPRESCI Prize and the SIGNIS Award.
The SIGNIS Award this year went to The Rainbow Troops by Indonesian director Riri Riza. Mr Riza’s poignant tale of a rural Islamic school that makes it despite the odds, won for its unique perspective on rustic Indonesian life. A special commendation was also given by SIGNIS to director Nakanishi Kenji for the film The Blue Bird.
The FIPRESCI Prize this year went to A Northern Chinese Girl by Chinese director Zou Peng. Presented by the International Federation of Film Critics to encourage new and young cinema, the award is another milestone for this film about a young woman’s struggle for survival in China’s urban sprawl.
The Humanitarian Award for Best Documentary went to Survival Song by Yu Guangyi, for his extraordinary and intimate portrayal of peasant life on the Chinese Mainland, while the Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Documentary went to Soda Kazuhiro for Mental, a searing indictment of the treatment of psychological disorders in Japan.
Finally, the Golden Digital Prize at the Asian Digital Competition went to Perfect Life by Chinese director Emily Tang for her film about people traversing the new social and economic realities of Mainland China. The Silver Digital Prize went to Malaysian director James Lee for his classic gangster tale about brotherhood, Call If You Need Me, and was commended by the jury for being “testimony to the strength of the Malaysian new wave.”
The following are winning films that still have screenings available in April:
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The Blue Bird – April 11, Hong Kong Cultural Centre |
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A Northern Chinese Girl – April 1, UA Times Square |
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Survival Song – April 1, Hong Kong Science Museum |
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Perfect Life – April 5, UA Langham Place |
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Call If You Need Me – April 7, Hong Kong Arts Centre, agnes b. cinema |
The 33rd HKIFF will run until April 13 and features over 300 films from 50 countries, including 17 international premieres, 20 world premieres and 30 Asian premieres, plus over a hundred meet-the-audience sessions, exhibitions, celebration parties and seminars.
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