Niu Niu's 'Final Payment' Wins Double at 10th Pingyao Festival

Niu Niu's "Final Payment" and Dong Jie's "Zoom In, Zoom Out" each won two prizes at the 10th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival in China, which closed with a ceremony honoring both emerging Chinese directors and international debut filmmakers.

"Final Payment," from Shanxi-born Niu, won the Fei Mu Award for best film, worth RMB1 million ($149,000), split equally between the director — for the development of their next film — and the film's China distributor. The film also took best actor for Niu's father, Niu Jianrong, who made his debut as a lead actor in the role.

The film follows a homeowner locked in a standoff with his contractor over the last payment for a renovation, a dispute drawn from Niu Jianrong's own experience.

"Tearing through a very small rip, the film leads us into a reality and emotional landscape so expansive, where we sigh, lament, and reflect," the Fei Mu jury said in its citation. "The director's approach is concise, unpretentious, and masterful, earning the wholehearted recognition of the entire jury."

On stage, Niu Jianrong thanked the jury with a joke at his son's expense. "You jury's bold for giving me this award," he said. "It was such torture, my director-son trained me really hard. In real life, I'm my son's father; but in front of the camera, he's my father." He and best actress winner Sun Yi each received a Louis Vuitton accessories box engraved with the festival logo.

Dong Jie's "Zoom In, Zoom Out" took the Fei Mu jury award and the Cinephilia Critics' Award. Accepting the jury prize, Dong said the team approached the film "with absolute purity of intent, which allows me to fully and unreservedly embrace the joy of making it. It's the joy of conquering something immensely difficult alongside dear friends, the joy of connecting with audiences after the premiere, and, above all, the joy of simply being here, in this very moment."

Xu Zao won the Unitree best director award for his debut animated feature "Light Pillar," which carries RMB200,000 ($29,800) toward his next film. The jury cited his "strong aesthetic awareness" and "astute yet warm approach," which "encourages everyone to hold up the beacon and keep moving forward even on a cold night."

Sun Yi won best actress for Wang Xiaozhen's "A Joke." The jury said she "delivers a delicate performance with restraint, portraying the regret and growth within an intimate relationship."

The Fei Mu jury also gave a special mention to Cai Chengjie's "Suzhou Quartet," produced by Huang Bo, "for its bravery, for its belief that the movie screen is still vast and open to new adventures and new forms of storytelling."

In the Crouching Tigers international competition, Rafiki Fariala's "Congo Boy" won the Roberto Rossellini Award for best film and $20,000, split between the director's next film and the film's China distributor. The jury cited its "simple style that echoes the great tradition of neorealism." Fariala, who was not in Pingyao, sent a video thanking the festival and closed it by singing a folk song.

Rafael Manuel won best director and $10,000 for "Filipiñana," which Jia Zhangke executive produced and Unknown Pleasures acquired for Greater China.

Lenti Liang's "Our Secrets" won the Fei Mu best short film award and RMB50,000 ($7,450), sponsored by Nowness of Meta Media. Liang told the audience the film drew on her own childhood trauma, and that after her mother saw it in Pingyao, the two talked it through and she had made peace with it.

Wang Wenting's "Black Goat" won the Unitree best student short film award in the Pingyao Corner section, with RMB30,000 ($4,470) — and a Unitree robot dog.

Other prizes went to Rakan Mayasi's "Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep," which won the Netpac Award for best first film in addition to a Rossellini jury special mention; Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's "Ben'imana," which took the Rossellini jury award; Chen Dongnan's "Whispers in May," which received the Youth Jury Award; and Zou Jing's "A Girl Unknown," which won the PYIFF–NAAC Distribution Award. Liu Bohao's "If a Walnut Falls" earned a best short film special mention, while Justine Moo's "Rainforest" and Huang Duojia's "Whose Home" received student short special mentions.

Earlier in the festival, Ann Hui received the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award. Pingyao also honored Marco Müller and Han Sanping with the International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award, and producer Tang Yan, founder of Hello Group, which owns social app Momo, with the 10th Anniversary Award.

As the festival marks its first decade, the double wins for "Final Payment" and "Zoom In, Zoom Out" — with prize money earmarked for directors' next projects and China distribution — signal a pipeline designed to push winning films from Pingyao's ancient city walls into wider release.