Film awards for young talent unveiled in Beijing

With its main competition category receiving 829 submissions from home and abroad, the 5th New Era Film Season – a Beijing-based event to highlight young talent –announced the winners on Oct 25.

Tibetan director Phakpa's short film Eye in the Sky, a satire set in a remote village, took home the best short film award of the main competition category, which had shortlisted 27 cinematic works.

Ji Jinglu, born in 1993, won the best director for the film The Hair Dryer – a story about the conflicts between a mother and a daughter, while female filmmaker Qu Rui's A Visitor in the Autumn earned her the best scriptwriter award.

American actor Travis Mitchell and ethnic Mongolian actress Chasuna co-won the best acting award respectively for their roles in the US film THEO: Beyond Expression and Sino-US coproduction Heading South.

As one of the highlights of the annual New Era events, this year's Propositional Films category – which requires contenders to shoot a short film under the same theme in 14 days – drew 3,253 creators. Up to 272 films met the requirements and 30 were shortlisted for the last selection.

The theme for this year was "all that hook you up to lift your head is the stars in the galaxy", and the submitted short films were required to feature a sunset scene.

Director He Lei's film Xiaoya (the name of the protagonist mother) won the best short film award in the Propositional Films award, with the film's actress Yi Jianmin taking home the best actress in the category for her tear-jerking portrayal of a single mother who faces off a hard blow.

Organizers said more than half of the 829 submissions for the main competition were directorial debuts, wishing the event will act as a hub to encourage more youngsters to pursue their cinematic dreams.