Films shine, youth, talent applauded

The 38th China Film Golden Rooster Awards, one of China's most prestigious film honors, were announced on Saturday, with the biggest winner being Her Story, a feminist hit examining the pressures and pursuits of Chinese women.

The film, the second directorial feature of 34-year-old Shao Yihui, won Best Feature Film. Song Jia took Best Actress for her role as a strong-willed single mother, and Zhong Chuxi earned Best Supporting Actress for playing a singer yearning for love.

Shao, a Beijing Film Academy graduate who once sold electronic cigarettes before making her directing debut, said she felt lucky, delighted and unprepared for the major honor.

In an emotional acceptance speech, Shao — who also writes the scripts for her films — said she would "always remember to take every word I write and every film I direct seriously. I will not waste the resources, the investment or my own talent. I will strive for the rise of Chinese cinema and work to make Chinese films even better".

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to 83-year-old Qiao Zhen, a veteran voice actor known for dubbing classics including the wartime romance drama Waterloo Bridge, and to 84-year-old director Xiao Guiyun, known for historic epics such as The Birth of New China, which won Best Feature Film at the 10th Golden Rooster Awards in 1990.

Xiao, who, together with seven veteran artists, received a reply letter from President Xi Jinping, said she and her late husband, director Li Qiankuan, regarded it as their lifelong passion and responsibility to bring New China's pivotal historical moments to the screen and share the story of the Chinese people's rise with global audiences.

At 24, Yi Yangqianxi became the youngest Best Actor winner in Golden Rooster history — sometimes described as China's equivalent to the Oscars — for his portrayal of a young man with cerebral palsy who refuses to surrender to fate in the film Big World.

"I entered the showbiz industry at the age of 12. In the years that followed, I have been living and working under high attention and high pressure," Yi said. "Despite the road ahead being long and challenging, I hope I can earn the audience's heartfelt respect through my efforts and works."

The award for Best Director went to Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo for Detective Chinatown 1900, a Spring Festival blockbuster depicting the discrimination and hardships faced by Chinese immigrants in the United States in the early 20th century.

Chen noted that as this year marks the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema, the award underscores that filmmaking is a team effort. Dai described the Detective Chinatown franchise — which includes three previous films and the new award-winning spin-off — as "another university" that taught him even more about filmmaking.

There's Still Tomorrow, one of the most commercially successful Italian films in China, won Best Foreign Language Film. Director and lead actress Paola Cortellesi recalled her first visit to China in March 2024 and said she has since felt the passion and warmth of Chinese audiences.

Speaking about the black-and-white film, set in the 1940s and marking her directorial debut, Cortellesi said she felt proud and privileged to receive such an important award from a country so far from Italy, adding that she is preparing her next project.

When The Last Dance, a film about Hong Kong's funeral industry and its traditional farewell ceremonies, earned Anselm Chan and Cheng Wai-kei Best Screenwriter, while Hong Kong veteran performer Yuen Fu-wah won Best Supporting Actor for his role as a street dessert vendor in Dumpling Queen, a semi-biographical story about a legendary businesswoman.

Yuen, 61, said he was drawn to the character's selflessness and hoped he and his colleagues could help bring Chinese films to a wider international audience.

The award for Best Animation went to Ne Zha 2, a record-breaking hit that has become the world's fifth highest-grossing film with more than 15.9 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) in box office revenue.

The 38th Golden Rooster Awards, the centerpiece of the 2025 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, presented 20 awards selected from 212 domestic films.