Diao Yinan, director of "Black Coal, Thin Ice," poses during a news conference after the awards ceremony of the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in 2014. (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese director Diao Yinan’s Golden Bear winner "Black Coal, Thin Ice" (Bai Ri Yan Huo) bagged three awards at this year’s China Film Directors Guild Awards, earning Best Film, Screenwriter of the Year for Diao, and Actor of the Year award for Liao Fan.
Gong Li was given the Actress of the Year award for her film "Coming Home," a consolation for the actress who was snubbed in the same category at Taiwan's Golden Horse awards.
Lou Ye was awarded Director of the Year for "Blind Massage."
Lu Yang took home the Young Director award for his film "Brotherhood of Blades," overtaking novelist, filmmaker, and former racecar driver Han Han for his directorial debut "The Continent."
Hong Kong director Ann Hui was awarded Best Director from Hong Kong and Taiwan, while Peter Ho-sun Chan's "Dearest" earned a special prize. Xin Yukun's "The Coffin in the Mountain" also bagged a special prize for Best Debut.
Twenty-one films were selected from around a hundred publicly screened mainland movies, with mainland Chinese directors to compete for the Film of the Year award.
Founded in 1993 and with approximately 300 members, the China Film Directors Guild has been handing awards out since 2005. Recently, the guild urged government officials to introduce large-scale industry reforms, including the creation of a film rating system that will make clearing censorship easier.
China's box office surged 36 percent in 2014 to $4.76 billion, with locally made films accounting for more than half of the take despite major Hollywood blockbusters such as "Transformers: Age of Extinction," which took a total $320 million, and "Fast and Furious 7," which raked in $68.6 million on its opening day.
In an interview, Chinese director Feng Xiaogang said that "Furious 7's" success in China puts "a great pressure for every Chinese director."
"I hope every director can balance art and commerce and that Chinese directors can push back [against pressure from Hollywood]," Feng said.
