'Tiantan Award' winners to be named at Beijing festival

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The coveted Tiantan Awards will be announced at the closing ceremony of the 8th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) on Sunday evening.

The award has become one of the most prestigious events at the festival due to its international vision, standardized procedures and professional level.

The Tiantan Award is based on the values of "Beauty in Variety, Harmony in Diversity," and invites masters of the craft to take part as judges. This year, 15 finalists were selected from 659 movies from 71 countries and regions.

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Two Chinese productions – "Hold Your Hands" and "Operation Red Sea" – are on the shortlist. The other finalists include the Czech war comedy "Barefoot", South African biographic film "Krotoa", and Canadian drama "Eye on Juliet."

Ten Tiantan Awards will be presented, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Visual Effects.

Tiantan Award trophies. /Sina Photo‍

The award jury is made up of well-known directors and actors from around the world. Legendary director Wong Kar-wai is heading the panel and is joined by Shu Qi, Rob Cohen, Duan Yihong, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, Calin Peter Netzer and Ruben Östlund.

Last year, two films by Georgian directors swept the awards at the seventh Beijing International Film Festival. Director Giorgi Barabadze's feature film "Luka" won Best Feature Film and Rusudan Glurjidze received the Best Director Award for "House of Others."

Director Rusudan Glurjidze with the Best Director Award for "House of Others" at the 7th Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, capital of China, April 23, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The BJIFF lifted its curtain last Sunday at Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center, and Sunday's closing ceremony is expected to have a star-studded lineup on the red carpet as well.