After several sun-kissed days, Beijing brought out the stars on Saturday night as Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s debut feature, Norwegian marital dramaLoveable, won the best feature film honor, plus three additional awards, at a closing ceremony full of Chinese stars and music that wrapped up the 15th edition of theBeijing International Film Festival on a high.
With director Ingolfsdottir not in attendance, it was up to her star Helga Guren to collect not only the best actress award but also the other honors.
Iván Fund’s The Message left the evening with three Tiantan Awards, while Chinese filmmaker Sagara’sTrapped picked up honors in two categories.
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Other award winners included Noëlle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert’s Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the World, Hao Ming and Li Peiran’s Better Me, Better You, and Nawi: Dear Future Me, directed by Tobias Schmutzler, Kevin Schmutzler, Apuu Mourine, and Vallentine Chelluget.
Chinese actor-directorJiang Wen(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,Let the Bullets Fly) served as the head of the competition jury, which also included Chinese American director and actorJoan Chen(The Last Emperor),British director David Yates(Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Chinese actor Ni Ni, Finnish director Teemu Nikki, Swiss director and actorVincent Perez, and art director Tim Yip from Hong Kong.
Jiang and Chen were joined on Saturday’s red carpet and at the closing ceremony by Chinese A-listers, including supermodel and actress Lin Chi-ling, actor-director Chen Peisi and his actor-director son Chen Dayu, actor and comedian Ge You, singer and actor Liu Yuning, actor-director Tang Guoqiang, singer-songwriter Xiao Ke, actress Yue Hong, legendary actor Zhu Shimao, and his son and director Zhu Qingyang.
Adding further star power to the evening were actor-director-screenwriter Chen Sicheng, actress Liu Xiaoqing, actress Ni Ni, TV host and kactress Ni Ping, singer Zhou Shen, and veteran actress Tian Hua.
Hosting and announcing duties were handled by Li Jie, Lan Yu, Nigmat, Wang Yige, Yue Yue, and Zhang Chi.
A big song and dance number with two singers and dozens of dancers kicked off the grand spectacular in style, living up organizers’ promise to put on “a dazzling celebration where cinema meets song.”
Soon after, the presenters of the best music honor briefly broke into song to the delight of the audience.
Meanwhile, singer Liu Yuning performed during Saturday’s “In Memoriam” segment that brought tears to many audience members’ eyes and also featured Maggie Smith and Alain Delon.
A ballad performed by Zhou Shen, which had the audience enthusiastically snapping pictures and waving their arms in the air, was another highlight of the ceremony and received a rousing ovation.
The ceremony ended with a joint rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” featuring the hosts, jurors, the competition film representatives and other people on stage.
The festival screened 15 main competition films, including three from China, with organizers receiving a record 1,794 feature film submissions from 103 countries and regions, marking a 19 percent increase over last year.
The Beijing festival’s 15th edition also featured masterclasses from French star Isabelle Huppert and Jiang Wen, industry discussions about such topics as film franchise management, as well as an exhibition of 150 postersfor animated Chinese box office smash hit Ne Zha 2, hand-painted by director Yang Yu, aka Jiaozi (meaning “dumpling”).
Actress Helga Guren needed help with the four trophies won by Loveable.
Here are the award winners of the 2025 Beijing International Film Festival.
Best Feature Film – Loveable (director Lilja Ingolfsdottir)
Best Director – Lilja Ingolfsdottir,Loveable
Best Screenplay – Sahaja and Sagara, Trapped and Lilja Ingolfsdottir, Loveable
Best Leading Actress – Helga Guren, Loveable
Best Leading Actor – Pierre Bastin and Benjamin Lambilotte, Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the World
Best Supporting Actress – Mara Bestelli, The Message
Best Supporting Actor – Hai Yitian, Better Me, Better You and Geng Le, Trapped
Special Jury Honor – Nawi: Dear Future Me (directors Tobias Schmutzler, Kevin Schmutzler, Apuu Mourine, and Vallentine Chelluget)
Best Artistic Contribution – The Message
Best Cinematography – The Message (Gustavo Schiaffino; director Ivan Fund)
Best Music – The Great Ambition (director Andrea Segre)
