The eight-day Hainan International Film Festival closed in south China's coastal city of Sanya Sunday. The festival, which ran from December 9 to 16, included forums, ceremonies, and competitions. Actor Jackie Chan is the event's promotional ambassador.
Hosted by the provincial government and Film Bureau of Hainan, the organizers hope that the festival will become a new global platform for new directors, talents and productions as well as new form of cinema, the official website states.
Many actors, actresses, and directors from China and abroad were in attendance, including French acting legends Isabelle Huppert and Isabelle Adjani. Among her awards, Huppert has won Best Actress at Cannes twice and Adjani has won five Best Actress Cesar Awards and the Best Actress award at Cannes.
A number of important awards were presented on the closing ceremony, including best leading actor, leading actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director and animated film of the year in the Chinese language section.
Among them, "The Wind Guardians" won the animated film of the year, according to the announcement of the festival's official Weibo.
Chinese director Wen Muye won the annual director of the Chinese language section with "Dying to Survive," which also earned the best film honor.
Chinese actor Du Jiang and actress Feng Wenjuan won supporting actor and actress of the year awards for "Operation Red Sea" and "Project Gutenberg" respectively.
Besides, Chinese actress Yao Chen won the leading actress of the year for "Lost, Found."
Chinese actor Xu Zheng and Chinese Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok shared the leading actor of the year award for "Dying to Survive" and "Project Gutenberg."
French actress Juliette Binoche and Hollywood star Johnny Depp, who paired on the 2000 movie "Chocolat", reunited to present the leading actor award.
Over the past few years, many film festivals have been set up in China, such as the Pingyao International Film Festival, which was started last year by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, and the Jinzhen International Short Film Festival in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival, one of Asia's oldest film festivals, started in 1976, while the Shanghai International Film Festival has become one of the biggest in Asia since it began in 1993. The Beijing International Film Festival is now in its eighth year.
