36th China Golden Rooster Awards winners announced

The 36th China Golden Rooster Awards, held during the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival in Xiamen, Fujian province, announced its winners on Saturday.

Among them, director Wuershan's epic film "Creation of The Gods I: Kingdom of Storms" emerged as a major winner with three awards: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actor.

Wuershan said the movie, the first installment of a trilogy adapted from a Ming Dynasty novel (1368-1644), had already taken him and his fellow creators 10 years, and they have recruited around 10,000 crew members for the project. Expressing his gratitude to all those dedicated to the epic, the ethnic Mongolian director said they will continue to work hard to finish the sequels.

Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung Chiu-wai, nominated for the first time by Golden Rooster, won the best actor award for playing a patriotic agent in the espionage thriller Hidden Blade, a twists-studded tale set during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

Leung said he enjoys being an actor because it has enriched his life, and he believes he would never be able to experience so many different lives and portray so many roles if he were not involved in acting. "Each character also teaches me new things and life lessons. Besides, I still greatly enjoy being an actor," he added.

"Hidden Blade" also received two other awards, Best Director and Best Editing.

Unlike most fellow winners who showed their excitement, director Cheng Er said he would approach winning the awards with a calm and ordinary altitude.

Yueju Opera-themed movie "Off the Stage" earned He Saifei the Best Actress award, while "The Wander Earth II", the sequel to China's highest-grossing sci-fi film, received the Special Jury Award and Best Sound Award.

Veteran actor Li Xuejian was honored with the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Ji Chang, a kind-hearted feudal lord, in "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms". He suggested dividing the honor among all five nominees, emphasizing that movies are a collective process. Li previously won the Golden Rooster's best actor in 1991 for the biographical movie Jiao Yulu.

Huang Miyi won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Ripples of Life, a noir comedy about how a film fails to be shot in the town due to the disagreement between the director and scriptwriter over the script.

Huang recalled that the film had faced a major challenge when the script for Ripples of Life was rejected just a couple of weeks before shooting. She expressed her appreciation for her fellow creators who bravely completed the movie, despite the difficulties in producing it.

Chang'an, a 168-minute epic chronicling the lifelong friendship of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) poets Li Bai and Gao Shi, won the award for best animated film. Song Yiyi, the producer, said they hope that through this film, more audiences can come to understand the lives and stories of some of the most renowned poets in China's literary history.

As one of the most creative winners at the award ceremony, Bai Zhiqiang, who won the best children's movie entry for his directorial debut, Like Father and Son, took out a long scroll of paper to deliver his appreciation speech. He expressed his gratitude to the individuals who financially supported the movie despite budget constraints.

The festival took place from November 1 to 4, with a total of 179 films competing for the 20 Golden Rooster Awards.