03/07/2017 - The Chinese title Crested Ibis has taken home the Golden George for Best Film, while Jean-Stéphane Bron’s The Paris Opéra triumphed in the Documentary Competition

The winners at the Moscow International Film Festival 2017 (© MIFF)

Asian, Russian and Turkish films have won big at the 39th Moscow International Film Festival, which kicked off on 22 June and handed out its awards last Thursday, 29 June. The jury, which comprised renowned Spanish director Albert Serra and Italian actress Ornella Muti, among others, decided to award the main prize, the Saint George Award for Best Film, to the Chinese title Crested Ibis, directed by Liang Qiao.

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The European names on the awards list were, most notably, Swiss director Jean-Stéphane Bron (who won the Saint George Award for Best Film in the Documentary Competition for his French-Swiss opus The Paris Opéra [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and German actress Verena Altenberger (who took home the Award for Best Actress for her role in Adrian Goiginger’s German-Austrian co-production The Best of All Worlds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).

The rest of the winners were Russian title The Bottomless Bag by Rustam Khamdamov (Special Jury Prize), Turkey’s Yellow Heat [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fikret Reyhan (Best Director) and South Korean actor Son Hyun-ju (Best Actor for his role in Kim Bong-han’s Ordinary Person).

The ceremony also welcomed legendary Italian actor Franco Nero, who received a Special Prize for an Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema, as well as his fellow countryman Michele Placido, an actor, screenwriter and director, who received a Special Prize for an Outstanding Achievement in Acting after screening his latest 7 Minutes [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Michele Placido
film profile] in the festival’s Masters section.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Golden George for Best Film
Crested Ibis - Liang Qiao (China)

Silver George Special Jury Prize
The Bottomless Bag - Rustam Khamdamov (Russia)

Silver George for Best Director
Fikret Reyhan - Yellow Heat [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Turkey)

Silver George for Best Actor
Son Hyun-ju - Ordinary Person (South Korea)

Silver George for Best Actress
Verena Altenberger – The Best of All Worlds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Germany/Austria)

Silver George for Best Documentary
The Paris Opéra [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jean-Stéphane Bron (France/Switzerland)

Best Short Film
Ambulanse - Sebastian Torngren Wartin (Norway)

Special Prize for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema
Franco Nero

Special Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Career of Acting and Devotion to the Principles of K Stanislavsky’s School
Michele Placido