2018 Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival Award Winners
The 2018 LA Chinese Film Festival has come to a close, and five films went home with awards, including Best Fiction Feature, Best Non-fiction Feature, Best Fiction Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Experimental and Animation Short. The festival also recognized two films with special awards: The Independent Spirit Award and the Up and Coming Award.
BEst fiction feature Girls Always Happy
The award for best feature went to Girls Always Happy, directed by Mingming Yang. This film successfully breaks the continental and cultural border, and brings global audience to Beijing in a mother-daughter story. This beautiful story vividly depicts Chinese women’s living, which is current and relevant.
Jury member Li Ruijun (left) presents the Best Fiction Feature Award to LACFF programmer (right) reading on behalf of Mingming Yang
Jury member Li Ruijun walks through his selection process.
best non-fiction feature People’s Republic of Desire
The Best Non-fiction Feature went to People’s Republic of Desire. When space is not a boundary, only time can show your loyalty to the values and relations you treasure. People’s Republic of Desire took a fascinating look from multiple vantage points into the world of live streaming. Hao Wu’s commitment to his subject over time creates a complex portrait of a high stakes and self-destructive world of aspirations and hidden agendas. This film will be screened at Monica Film Center starting from November 30th in 2018.
Jury member Richard Liang (Weichao Liang) (left) presents the Best Non-Fiction Feature Award to winner Hao Wu (right).
best fiction short Jie Jie
Jie Jie, directed by Feng-I Fiona Roan won the Best Fiction Short. This is a highly original story of an immigrant mother and two small children, we have the feeling of looking in these lives in a natural way and the final sequence with the two sisters in the bathtub is such powerful acting from those children, something that’s very difficult to do. This film will be distributed by HBO in the US. Currently, Feng-I Fiona Roan is directing another fiction feature funded by Golden Horse Film Project Promotion.
best documentary short Life as He Likes
Life as He Likes, directed by Lizhu Yang, won the Best Documentary Short. This film is deeply empathetic, moving, and revealing. In this passionate, intimate, and brave film, a man near the end of his life turns public scorn into private strength. This documentary short is under production for a feature length documentary.
best experimental/animation short Barry
Barry, directed by Anchi Shen, won the Best Experimental and Animation Short Award. Barry’s excellent rhythm partnered with a smooth and continuous storyline and established characters has made it impressively outstanding for a powerful animation short.
Jury member Gabrielle Kelly presents the Best Fiction Short Award (left) while leading actress Eva Du accepts for the film, Jie Jie (center).
Jury member Jeff Swimmer presents the Best Documentary Short Award.
Jury member Helder Sun (right) presents the Best Experimental/Animation Short Award to Director Anchi Shen (left).
independent spirit award E.T. MADE IN CHINA
E.T. Made in China, from director Xiaosha Zhang, had its Global debut at the LACFF, and claimed the Independent Spirit for, a deliberate presentation of a broken hard-drive, unique editing styles -- all these elements have shaped E.T. Made in China into a pioneering short film. In the coming December, this film will be released on iQiyi, one of the biggest Chinese streaming media platforms.
Jury member Rebecca Baron (left) presents the Independent Spirit Award to Xiaosha Zhang (right) director of E.T. Made in China.
Rebecca Baron looks on at the crowd as she speaks about the merits of the Independent Spirit Award winner E.T. Made in China.
up and coming award Miss World
George Fu won the Up and Coming Award. By directing Miss World, Georgia successfully tells the story of an alienated expatriate daughter and her father who is going to prison. The trials these two face vividly show the vulnerability of the common man. However, it is the unflinching depiction of these hardships that gives the story its great power and impact, which also shows the talent of the director.
Georgia Fu gives a speech after receiving the Up and Coming Award for her film Miss World.
