Russian Film “Mukha” Takes Grand Prize of Shanghai Film Festival

A Russian filmmaker’s directorial debut has scored the top prize at the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Led by acclaimed Chinese director Wong Kar-wai, the jury named Vladimir Kott’s “Mukha” the festival’s best feature film at a late Sunday awards ceremony.

Several films scored multiple trophies, including Chinese director Gao Qunshu’s film “Old Fish“, about a bomb dismantling expert in northeastern China.

Set in Ireland and Lithuania, the drama “Loss” won the best director prize for Latvian Maris Martinsons and took the trophy for best film music.

Czech actress Emilia Vasaryova was named best actress for her role in “Vaclav“, which follows the story of a village outcast. The movie also won best screenplay.

The 11th annual Shanghai festival featured more than 300 films from around the world, screened for moviegoers and film industry members over nine days.

Sharon Stone Movies Banned In China

Sharon Stone, who last year was a guest of the Shanghai International Film Festival, now faces a boycott of her films in China after she suggested the devastating May 12 earthquake there could have been the result of bad “karma.”Stone’s remarks, made at the Festival de Cannes on Thursday, pondered a link between the earthquake — which has killed more than 65,000 people — and China’s treatment of ethnic Tibetans and their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom she called “a good friend.”

“I’m not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans, because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else,” Stone said in a brief red carpet interview with Cable Entertainment News of Hong Kong. “And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you’re not nice that the bad things happen to you?”

Her remarks triggered anger across the Chinese-language media and were called “inappropriate” by the founder of one of China’s biggest urban cinema chains, who said his company would not show the Hollywood veteran’s films.

Ng See-Yuen, founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers said that actors should not bring personal politics to comments about a natural disaster that has left 5 million Chinese homeless.

UME has branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, China’s biggest urban movie markets.

Cinemablend says:

If you’re Chinese and you’re bummed that you may not be able to see the latest from Sharon Stone… don’t be. Consider yourselves lucky. Sharon Stone hasn’t made a good movie in years, and I wish someone over here in America had done this years ago. Maybe it would have saved me from Basic Instinct 2. Besides, China’s big on banning things. They ban everything, and if they ban this it’ll be the first time they’ve actually banned something for what might be considered a non-evil reason. I’d call this huge progress. Let freedom ring.

Largely ignored by the Chinese press were the 50-year-old actress’ closing remarks in the interview at Cannes. Stone said she cried when she got a letter from the Tibetan Foundation asking her to help the quake victims.

“Sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service, even to people who aren’t nice to you. That’s a big lesson for me,” Stone said.