The 8th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) came to a close on April 22 after a successful week of culture, business and technology. The event took place at Yanqi Lake Convention Center, a remarkably lavish location that seems to have sprung up almost out of nowhere nearly 90 minutes outside of Beijing city center.

They say "time is luck" and we arrived at the center just as the rain was ending. The unexpectedly damp weather had lightly misted the hills surrounding the event, providing a nice counterpoint to the harsh lighting and structured procession of the red carpet.

Every few minutes, either one celebrity or a group of them would arrive in a swanky black car and then walk past their adoring fans, the snap-happy media and add their signature to a wall of sponsors before heading into the convention center. 

These events are fascinating from a foreigner's perspective: It was clearly a thrill for me and the crowd to be only feet away from Wong Kar-wai and Isabelle Huppert, but it was also interesting to see the others react to people I barely recognized. 

Everyone was ecstatic to see William Chan, star of the upcoming Genghis Khan blockbuster, but to me, he's best known as the guy selling yogurt on the billboards at Guomao subway station.

By the time the stars had got inside the building, it was dark and starting to get cold, so everyone was very quick to get to their seats for the beginning of the show. 

Judging by the interior of the auditorium, it's very clear that the BJIFF is becoming more prestigious every year but is still not on par with the more established events – for better and worse.

The stage was incredibly wide and covered with hi-def screens which were different for each of the segments of the evening's show, and yet the room itself wasn't particularly large, meaning that there's always a sense of intimacy. Even from where the media are shoved at the back, it was still possible to get a good view.

There was also a weird mix of talent on display. The jury, made up of seven industry professionals, was headed by legendary director Wong Kar-wai but also included Jonathan Mostow, best known for making a "Terminator" movie that nobody likes. Likewise, the musical interlude by BoyzLife – a duo made up of Irish popstars Keith Duffy and Bryan McFadden – could not have seemed more out of place when compared to the traditional Chinese performance from Wu Tong that came earlier in the night.

As for the awards, talent from Iran, Israel, the UK, Canada and China were honored and, out of a lineup of 15 films from across the globe, the Tiantan Award for Best Feature Film was given to "Scary Mother," a co-production from Georgia and Estonia, emphasizing just how international the Chinese film scene is.