Chinese documentary wins Regard d’or and three more prizes at 27th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland

Wang Bing’s Three Sisters, about family life in a small mountain village in China, won $320,000 (30,000 CHF) as part of the Regard d’or prize on Saturday evening.

Bing also received the Don Quixote Awards from the International Federation of Film Societies (FICC/IFFS); the E-Changer Awards from the Youth Jury; and the Ecumenical Jury Award.

The Special Jury Prize, worth $11,000 (10,000 CHF), was awarded to debut feature Los Salvajes, directed by Argentinian Alejandro Fadel.

The Talent Tape Award, worth nearly $10,000 (9,000 CHF), was given to the producers of It’s a Dream, from Iranian film-maker Mahmoud Ghaffari.

The Audience Award, worth $5,300 (5,000 CHF), was given to Wadjda, by Haifa Al-Mansour – the first female director to film in Saudi Arabia.

The FIPRESCI Jury selected thriller Penance by Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

The film Watchtower by Turkey’s Pelin Esmer received two laudatory mentions from the Ecumenical Jury as well as the FICC Jury.

Following the award ceremony, the Swiss premiere of Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster was screened.

The 27th Fribourg International Film Festival set a new audience record with more than 36,000 attendees, exceeding the previous record in 2011.

More than 40 international guests, such as Charles Aznavour and Eric Cantona, attended the festival.

 The 28th FIFF will run from March 29 to April 5, 2014.