(TibetanReview.net, Feb15’19) – A Tibetan filmmaker from Chinese ruled Tibetan territory of Qinghai has won three of this year’s 12 awards, including the top prize, at the festival of Asian films called the Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie (Fica). The festival was held in the Fica theatre, located in the eastern French commune of Vesoul, from Feb 5 to 12.
The film by Pema Tseden’s Jinpa has been described as a mystery story with a philosophical thrust. He was stated to have based the screenplay on two novels, The Slayer by Tsering Norbu and his own I Ran Over a Sheep.
Singaporean Eric Khoo led the international jury at Fica which chose Jinpa out of eight films in the feature fiction, reported modernghana.com Feb 14. He and the other members of the jury, all directors, Bae Chang-ho from South Korea, Palestinian Rashid Masharawi, and Kazakh Darezhan Omirbaev have agreed that it was original in its style and cinematic language.
The report cited Khoo, a award winning filmmaker himself, as saying he was drawn to films which “spoke” to him “beyond any specific cultural references.”
Besides the 25th Cyclo d’Or (Golden Rickshaw) award, Tseden has also won the Critics’ Award and INALCO’s Special Award.
The festival in Vesoul drew 32,700 visitors, the report said.
