The German film
According to Plan went away with the
Golden Goblet award as the 10th Shanghai International Film
Festival wrapped up on Sunday night at?the city's Grand
Theater.
The stars turned out in style for the award ceremony with such
recognizable faces as Gong Li, or Jackie Chan rubbing shoulders on
the red carpet.
The German production tells the tragic-comic story of three
sisters who return to their home village to celebrate their
mother's birthday, a seemingly ordinary event which reveals itself
to be completely different than anticipated.
"The film is about planning and the feelings of ordinary
people," said director Franziska Meletzky. "We're very proud of
this win."
Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige, presiding over the festival's jury
panel, said, "The truth of life has been expressed through laughs
and tears in this film."
Corinna Harfouch, Dagmar Manzel, Kirsten Block and Christine
Schorn, who play the three sisters and their elderly mother, were
also awarded a joint best-actress title. "It is a big moment for
us," Schorn said in delight.
The best actor gong went to young Spanish actor Juan Ballesta
for his impressive performance in the film Doghead.
Ballesta gives a gripping performance as a teenager who has
suffered from a strange neurological disease since childhood.
The last of the major awards, that of best director, stayed on
home turf going to Chinese film maker Tian Zhuangzhuang for his
biopic of Wu Qingyuan, a master of Go.
Best cinematography went to Chinese photographer Wang Yu, who
also worked on The Go Master. The best screenplay award
was attributed to Israel's Shemi Zarhin for Aviva My Love
while Isao Tomita's excellent score for the Japanese film Love
and Honor saw him declared winner of the best music award.
The Jury Grand Prix was given to The New Man, a
Sweden-Finland co-production by Klaus Haro, which depicts the fight
of a young Swedish woman against enforced sterilization in the
1950s.
The jury panel also dedicated a special award to Chinese
director Yin Li's film The Knot for its habile telling of
a beautiful love story using classic emotions.
After the award ceremony, acclaimed film maker Hou Hsiao-hsien
presented his latest effort Looking for the Red Balloon as
the festival's closing film.
This year's race for the Golden Goblet was a truly international
one as sixteen films from over 10 countries and regions were in the
running during the nine-day event.
(Shanghai Daily June 25, 2007)
