Shen Ko-shang’s Deep Quiet Room was awarded Best Film in the Fei Mu Awards of this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival, while The President’s Cake, directed by Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi, scooped the same honor in the festival’s Roberto Rossellini Awards.
Deep Quiet Room also took Best Actor for Joseph Chang’s performance as a man dealing with his wife’s mental deterioration after she becomes pregnant. Taiwan-based Shen is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who was making his narrative feature debut with the film.
Also in the Fei Mu Awards, which recognise films in the festival’s Hidden Dragons section for emerging Chinese-language filmmakers, Zhang Zhongchen was awarded Best Director for Nighttime Sounds, while the Jury Award went to The Toddling Youths, directed by Qi Yanyan.
Best actress went to Ranice Tay for Amoeba, directed by Singapore’s Tan Siyou, which was also presented with awards from two other juries – the Youth Jury Award and the Cinephilia Critics Award.
In the Roberto Rossellini Awards, which recognise films in the Crouching Tigers section for emerging international filmmakers, Best Director went to My Father’s Shadow, directed by Nigerian-UK filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr, while the Jury Award was presented to The World Of Love, directed by Korea’s Yoon Ga-Eun.
Among other awards from separate juries, Miao Zhuangzhuang’s Daughters, which screened in the Made In Shanxi section, scooped both the Netpac Award for Best First Film and the Tong Ye Award.
A new award, Chinese Filmmaker of the Year, was presented to three Chinese directors who have won awards at major international film festivals in 2025: Huo Meng, who was awarded a Berlin Silver Bear for Best Director for Living The Land; Bi Gan, who won a Special Prize in Cannes for Resurrection; and Cai Shangjun, whose The Sun Rises On Us All took best actress in Venice.
The ceremony also included the presentation of PYIFF’s ‘International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award’ to Busan International Film Festival co-founder Kim Dong Ho, who had flown to Pingyao to accept the honour.
The festival opened on September 24 with a screening of Zhang Dalei’s short film Happy New Year Mr. Wood, and closes on September 30, while the closing film, Resurrection, was screened before the awards ceremony on September 29.
On the opening night, two ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East West Awards’ were presented to Chinese director Feng Xiaogang, whose 2004 A World Without Thieves was screened at the festival, and Japanese producer, script supervisor and author Teruyo Nogami, who worked on many of Akira Kurosawa’s films.
Masterclasses this year included sessions with filmmakers such as Feng Xiaogang, Bi Gan, Cai Shangjun, Huo Meng, Zhang Dalei, Teng Congcong and Japanese filmmakers Tetsuya Mariko and Koji Fukada. In addition to screenings and masterclasses, the festival hosts the Pingyao Project Promotion market and Pingyao Corner platform for short films from students from several Chinese universities.
Pingyao International Film Festival 2025 Winners:
Fei Mu Awards [Hidden Dragons section]:
Best Film: Deep Quiet Room, dir: Shen Ko-shang
Best Director: Zhang Zhongchen, Nighttime Sounds
Best Actress: Ranice Tay, Amoeba
Best Actor: Joseph Chang, Deep Quiet Room
Jury Award: The Toddling Youths, dir: Qi Yanyan
Roberto Rossellini Awards [Crouching Tigers section]:
Best Film: The President’s Cake, dir: Hasan Hadi
Best Director: My Father’s Shadow, dir: Akinola Davies Jr
Jury Award: The World Of Love, dir: Yoon Ga-Eun
Other Juries:
Youth Jury Award: Amoeba, dir: Tan Siyou
Tong Ye Award: Daughters, dir: Miao Zhuangzhuang
Netpac Award Best First Film: Daughters, dir: Miao Zhuangzhuang
Cinephilia Critics Award: Amoeba, dir: Tan Siyou
Chinese Filmmaker of the Year 2025: Huo Meng, Bi Gan, Cai Shangjun
Hidden Dragon Shorts:
Feimu Awards Best Short Film: After The Cat, dir: Chu Hoi Ying
Pingyao Project Promotion:
Momo Sky Grand Award: The Flower Seller
Momo Sky Selection Prize: The Killer Has No Weekend, Take It Easy, shorty Crush, Three-Life Stone, The Flower Seller
Creative Award: The Songs We Never Sang
Humanism Award: Grassland Ska!
Most Promising Award: Good Bye
Pingyao Short-Form Drama:
Best Script: I, The Apple Of My Ancestors’ Eyes, screenwriter: Chen Ziang
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