‘Final Payment’, ‘Congo Boy’ Win Top Awards At Pingyao International Film Festival

Final Payment, directed by Chinese filmmaker Niu Niu, captured the top spot with the Best Film award at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF). In the competitive Roberto Rossellini Awards, Congolese director Rafiki Fariala’s Congo Boy triumphed as Best Film.

Final Payment, which earned its winning performance by Niu Jianrong the Best Actor nod, narrates a homeowner’s bitter dispute with a contractor over unpaid renovation costs. The PYIFF competition jury praised the work, noting how the film thrusts viewers into a raw, emotionally resonant reality where tearful reflection becomes inevitable. The director’s disciplined, understated style garnered universal acclaim from the judges.

A $150,000 (RMB 1 million) prize accompanied the Best Film win, with half funding the director’s next project and half delivered to the Chinese distributor. This victory follows Niu Niu’s prior accolades with Mr Junjun, which secured both the Jury Award and Young Director Jury Prize at last year’s edition.

In addition to the Fei Mu honors, Xu Zao captured the Best Director prize for Light Pillar, while Sun Yi earned Best Actress for Wang Xiaozhen’s A Joke. The Jury Award was bestowed upon Dong Jie for Zoom In, Zoom Out, whose world debut occurred during Venice Critics Week, and Cai Chengjie received a special mention for Suzhou Quartett.

Congo Boy claimed the top position in the Roberto Rossellini Award contest and also secured Best Actor after its acclaimed Cannes Un Certain Regard screening this summer. The PYIFF accolade included a $20,000 grant, divided between the director’s future work and the local distributor.

Also highlighted were Rafael Manuel winning Best Director for Filipiñana in the Philippines, and Marie‑Clémentine Dusabejambo directing Ben’imana, which later grabbed the Camera d’Or at Cannes. Rakan Mayasi’s Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep earned a special mention from the jury as well.

Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui received the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East‑West Award ahead of her coming Pusan International Film Festival honors, while the Pingyao Institute’s International Contribution to Chinese Cinema went to Marco Müller, founder of the festival with Jia Zhangke.

This year’s PYIFF opened on September 24 with a 4K restoration of Fei Mu’s classic Spring In A Small Town and closed with Good Trip, co‑directed by Norris Wong and Hoi Wong, additionally showcasing Jia’s short film Torino Shadow**, which premiered at Cannes.