Argentinian thriller "Paulina" (aka "La Patota") won the top prize Tiantan Award at the closing ceremony of the Beijing International Film Festival (April 16-23.)
Directed by Santiago Mitre, the film also picked up the best screenplay and best actress (Dolores Fonzi) awards at a ceremony on Saturday night held some 40 km away from the city center in Huairou.
The best director award went to Denmark’s Christina Rosendahl for her film, "The Idealist." Louis Hofman was named best actor for his role in another Danish film "Land of Mine" (aka “Under Sandet”.) China’s "Go Away, Mr Tumor" was given the best visual effects award.
The competitive section was announced only days before the festival began. It came as a surprise, as many in the industry had been led to believe that the BJIFF had become a non-competitive festival. The jury was headed by Brett Ratner.
The sixth edition of the festival again included a film market, a conference series and a project pitching section. The popularity of the pitching sessions continued to boom with the number of projects submitted increasing by half to 674.
The market, relocated this year to the conference center of the Beijing International Hotel in Jianguomen, was dominated by small Chinese production companies and service suppliers ranging from legal services, to data and finance. There was also a significant presence for Korean and Taiwanese firms seeking to sell services and locations to Chinese producers
Away from the market, the event was also host to official delegations of film makers from Australia and the U.K. Organizers claimed that the festival and market saw US$2.5 billion (RMB16 billion) of deals concluded.