“OUT of Paradise,” the first feature from Mongolian director Batbayar Chogsom, was awarded the best film prize at a glitzy closing ceremony for the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 24.

A road movie of sorts, “Out of Paradise” follows a nomadic couple in need of a C-section who travel from the remote steppes to the big city of Ulaanbaatar. The Shanghai jury, chaired by veteran Chinese director Jiang Wen, praised the film as “plain but not simple, honest and poetic.”

As is customary in Shanghai, the best film winner became the festival’s closing film and was rescreened after the ceremony.

SIFF’s closing ceremony red carpet was walked by an array of international celebrities, including American actor Jesse Eisenberg, Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo and Chinese stars Yao Chen, Ma Yili and Du Juan, among others. A total of 13 films were screened in Shanghai’s main international competition category this year.

The best director prize also went to a feature debut: “A Translator” (“Un Traductor”), from sibling filmmakers Rodrigo and Sebastian Barriuso. Based on real events, the picture centers on a Russian literature professor at the University of Havana who is ordered to work as a translator for child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster when they are sent to Cuba for medical treatment.

“We made this film because we want to inspire people and share the story with the world,” Rodrigo Barriuso said upon accepting the award. “To hear this amazing response from SIFF is incredible for us — thanks to China.”

American actor Tye Sheridan, star of A.J. Edwards’ young adult drama “Friday’s Child,” was named best actor (Sheridan’s “calm presentation of internal feelings sets a model for young actors,” according to the SIFF jury), while Quebecois actress Isabelle Blais took best actress honors for her work in the Canadian drama “Tadoussac.” Edwards’ cinematographer also won the best cinematography prize for his “consistent and highly expressive” work on “Friday’s Child.”

Chinese film “Ala Changso,” directed by Tibetan filmmaker Sonthar Gyal, won both the Jury Grand Prix (SIFF’s second-place prize) and the best screenplay award. The director dedicated both awards to his homeland, in which the film is set, saying, “This piece of land gave me all of my inspiration.”

Best animation honors went to Japanese anime “Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms,” directed by Mari Okada, a rare female voice in Japan’s male-dominated animation industry. The best documentary award, meanwhile, was handed out to Dutch director Leonard Retel Helmrich for “The Long Season,” a film about daily life inside a Syrian camp in Lebanon.

Established in 1993, SIFF is China’s only A-category international film festival. Organizers say a total of some 3,447 films from 108 countries and regions were submitted for consideration by the festival’s selection committee this year. During the event, just over 500 Chinese and international films were screened at 45 cinemas in Shanghai.

(SD-Agencies)