The 2025 China Film Directors' Night kicked off Tuesday in the coastal city of Yantai, Shandong Province, gathering China's top filmmakers to honor the year's most outstanding directorial achievements.
Now in its second year, this prestigious gala co-hosted by China Media Group's Yangshipin, the China Film Directors Guild, and the City of Yantai, celebrates cinematic artistry.
It's the annual celebration and a homecoming of sorts. Filmmakers have converged on Yantai, a city etched in Chinese cinema's DNA.
In 1898, film first arrived in China via American missionaries in Yantai. Now, 127 years later, the China Film Directors Guild honors its best where the story started.
Snatching this year's Best Director Award is director Guan Hu for his film Black Dog which won the Un Certain Regard at the Cannes in 2024.
The Best Picture of the Year went to The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, a powerful documentary about a WWII prisoner war ship that capsized en route to Japan. First time director Fan Li explains why he made this film against all odds.
"Accidentally, everybody told me that sinking shipwreck had never been found. Simply out of curiosity, I tried to find the shipwreck and I found it. Then I realized below the deck when I was searching the boat, there are 828 boys forgotten. So automatically as a father, you want to know who they are," said Fan, Best Picture Winner.
In a posthumous tribute, this year's Jury's Honorary Best Director Award went to the late Pema Tseden, the revered Xizang director who passed away in 2023 at the age of 53.
His son who received the award on his behalf has already been carrying on his legacy.
"The most poignant lesson my father has taught me is his courage to pursue the truth that has led him to making films about his hometown and his version of the world through his eyes," said Jigme Trinley, son of late Pema Tseden.
Trinley is not the only young director who stepped up onto the stage. Gao Peng received the Best Young Director prize for his film.
The award gala this year isn't just about recognizing the creme de la creme in the Chinese film industry, but also a celebration of 120 years of Chinese cinema.
Jackson Yee claimed Best Actor for his transformative role in Big World, while Yong Mei and Song Jia made history, sharing the Best Actress Award in the awards' first-ever tie.
Directors shine at 2025 China Film Directors' Night in Yantai
Breaking long-standing Western heroic narrative conventions in filmmaking, the trending Chinese anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East", is reshaping global cinematic discourse on war and peace.
The summer blockbuster was released on Tuesday nationwide and had earned box office revenue of more than 536 million yuan (around 79.5 million U.S. dollars) as of 22:00 Friday.
The story centers on Xu Fu, a down-on-his-luck Chinese chef portrayed by celebrated comedian Shen Teng, who travels to the Middle East to settle his debts. There, he joins forces with a local restaurant manager to operate a bustling restaurant, bringing authentic Chinese culinary traditions to a war-torn foreign land.
As a distinct Chinese anti-war feature, "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" abandons timeworn Western heroic storytelling. The film adopts the humble viewpoint of Xu Fu, an ordinary cook. Through his eyes as a neutral bystander, it portrays the struggles and sufferings of ordinary people trapped in conflict and uses food and everyday life to explore survival, compassion and the value of peace, rather than focusing on the battlefield.
Such a narrative perspective is quite pioneering among global anti-war film productions.
"It realistically reflects the turmoil of war. Therefore, we desire peace and oppose the suffering that wars of aggression inflict upon the people," a moviegoer praised.
Meanwhile, the blockbuster has garnered massive overseas anticipation prior to its international debut. Many global film enthusiasts agree that the production epitomizes a transformative shift in Chinese film industry, which is overhauling Hollywood's established narrative paradigms and reinterpreting the global narrative of war and peace at a higher level.
"Just imagine how this story would unfold if Hollywood were to film it. It would almost certainly follow the standard formula of superheroes, super-soldiers, or elite operatives swooping in, resolving the crisis in a flash, and then disappearing. What does the 'Once Upon a Time in the Middle East' offer? The idea that the best days are those spent sharing a meal together. Conversely, what drives people to fight instead of dining together? Anyone who has seen the film knows the answer. That is why some netizens have said that if this movie were to compete for a U.S. Oscar award, it would be a voice representing the Global South," said Zuo Heng, a researcher at the China Film Archive.
Many scholars also hold the view that war narratives on international screens have long revolved around contests of victory and military conquest, but "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" does not stoke hatred nor glorify victory by force. Instead, it hides the key to peace amid the mundane routines of daily meals.
This vision of peace, rooted in the moderation and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, blazes a new trail of expression for global anti-war films.
It constitutes an innovation in film creation and enables the world to see perceptions of peace different from those of the West.
"The film delivers an anti-war perspective that diverges from the Hollywood paradigm. It abandons Hollywood-style individualism, and quietly challenges the 'America First' mindset. 'Once Upon a Time in the Middle East' keeps exploring innovative approaches to shape contemporary Chinese discourse and narrative systems," said Sun Jiashan, a researcher with the Department of Chinese Culture Education and Research under the Central Institute of Socialism.
Chinese anti-war film offers new cinematic narrative on war and peace
