Beijing Int'l Film Festival crowns winners

BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- "Wolf Totem" director Jean Jacques Annaud won the Tiantan Award for Best Director as the fifth Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) closed on Thursday night.

Mexican movie "The Beginning of Time" received the Tiantan Award for Best Feature Film, with gongs also handed out to winners in eight other categories including best actor, actress and music.

French director Luc Besson chaired the Tiantan Awards jury, which also included Robert Mark Kamen from the United States, South Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, Russia's Fyodor Bondarchuk, Peter Chan from Hong Hong and Chinese actress Zhou Xun.

Artem Tsypin won the Tiantan Award for Best Actor for his role in "A White, White Night". Tony Leung Ka Fai won the best supporting actor award for his performance in "The Taking of Tiger Mountain".

Eva Bandor was named Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Children", which also won the Tiantan Award for Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Fifteen films were accepted for the main competition and a chance at Tiantan Awards. More than 300 films were screened during the annual BJIFF.

This year's event generated over 13.8 billion yuan (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars) in contracts, a 32-percent increase year on year and more than any other film festival in Asia, according to the organizing committee.