Taiwanese filmmaker Shen Ko-shang’s Deep Quiet Room won the Fei Mu Award for best film at the ninth Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival, capping a week that mixed hometown tributes with a broad slate of emerging voices from Asia and beyond. Jurors praised the Taiwan–China–Italy co-production’s tightly wound drama, and star Joseph Chang was named best actor for his performance, while Zhang Zhongchen earned best director for Nighttime Sounds and Ranice Tay took best actress for Amoeba.
On the international side, Iraqi director Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake claimed the Roberto Rossellini Award for best film, with Akinola Davies Jr. recognized as best director for My Father’s Shadow. Additional prizes included the Tong Ye Award and NETPAC honor for Miao Zhuangzhuang’s Daughters, and the Fei Mu Jury Award for Qi Yanyan’s The Toddling Youths. Short-film winners included Chu Hoi Ying’s After the Cat and Li Longjianhui’s Quick Pause, Quick Breath.
The results punctuated a edition framed by festival founder Jia Zhangke’s push to spotlight new Chinese talent and to link Pingyao’s platform more directly to distribution. Earlier in the week he outlined progress at Unknown Pleasures Pictures, his nascent label importing arthouse titles to the mainland, while the program itself balanced local premieres with the “Crouching Tigers” and “Hidden Dragons” competitions that feed discovery.
Opening ceremonies folded in a Shanxi cinema salute and special honors, including a lifetime distinction for director Feng Xiaogang and a career citation for revered script supervisor Teruyo Nogami; the festival also presented an International Contribution to Chinese Cinema award to veteran organizer Kim Dong-ho.
Deep Quiet Room’s strong showing underscores Pingyao’s role as a launchpad for Chinese-language films with regional backing and crossover ambitions. The film’s win, coupled with acting recognition for Chang, gives the title momentum as it seeks broader play after a domestic run.
Across the aisle, The President’s Cake continues a trend of Pingyao juries lifting politically inflected narratives with clear authorial voices, while My Father’s Shadow’s directing prize highlights formal ambition in a field defined by first and second features. With the festival closing on September 30, organizers pointed to packed screenings and a growing industry sidebar as signs the walled-city showcase has matured into an early-autumn bellwether for the region.
