FEATURE film 'Barbarian Invasion', directed by Tan Chui Mui, won the Jury Grand Prix prize at the Golden Goblet Awards in China yesterday.
It is one of the highest prizes at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival, reported The Star.
The Golden Goblet Award brings together over 2,000 films from more than 100 countries and regions around the world every year.
The juries included Huang Jianxin, Anthony Chen, Deng Chao, Marco Müller, Natacha Devillers, Matthias Delvaux and Zhou Dongyu.
Chinese film 'Manchurian Tiger' took home the other top prize for Best Feature Film.
'Barbarian Invasion' is an arthouse action film and Tan's third feature film. Apart from directing, she also wrote the script and played the lead role.
The juries commended Tan for her bravery in taking up the challenge.
"The film took a genre that is familiar to us all and turned it on its tail.
"The handling of pace is pitch-perfect, as it continues to subvert and surprise at each turn," they added.
Because of the pandemic, Tan could not attend the award ceremony.
She was represented by producer Yang Jin, who said in his speech: "Director Tan's project is very well done. This proves one point, you don't need extra money to make a movie, you just need talent."
Producer Woo Ming Jin said, “We’re extremely excited and grateful for this award. We hope with this award the film will find a greater audience in China and also the rest of the world.”
Co-producer from the Philippines, Bianca Balbuena said, “Thankful for this recognition, a nod to Malaysian cinema. It is a great encouragement to mother-filmmakers to continue doing what they do! Very happy that the film resonated to the jury and to a big audience at SIFF.” – The Vibes, June 20, 2021
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