Film festival season is in full swing, with the Moscow International Film Festival just finishing up their week of films. The awards presented at the festival are titled “Saint Georges” and vary between silver and gold. The Gold Saint George for Best Film was awarded to the film Crested Ibis, a Chinese film directed by Qiao Liang which follows the story of a reporter named Vince Kang who must return to his hometown to complete a report on the crested ibis. Returning home, however, reveals the true nature of the people around Kang, which causes his memories of his past to resurface.

Yellow Heat by Fikret Reyhan

The Silver Saint George for Best Directing was given to Fikret Reyhan of Turkey for his work on the film Yellow Heat, which tells the story of a farming family that is deep in debt and being surrounded and almost snuffed out by industry. A boy of the family tries to follow his dreams, but the difficulties of the area weigh down on him and his family.

Other winners at the Moscow Film Festival include the Silver Saint George for Best Actor and Best Actress which were awarded to Son Hyun-Ju of South Korea for his work in Ordinary Person and Verena Altenberger of Austria for her acting in The Best of All Worlds. The Silver Saint George for Best Documentary was awarded to Opera, a French-Swiss film directed by Jean-Stephane Bron, and the Silver Saint George for Best Short Film was given to Ambulance, a Norwegian film directed by Sebastian Torngren Wartin. The Moscow International Film Festival award winners was among some of the most diverse, with not a single country winning more than one Saint George award. The film festivals this year continue to impress, and we hope to see some of the films displayed brought to the states in one way or another.