'500M800M' wins Cyclo d'Or prize at Asian film festival in France

The 23rd International Festival of Asian Film (FICA) in Vesoul, France ended on Tuesday, February 14 with the statutory awards ceremony. The Cyclo d’Or, or Golden Cycle-Rickshaw prize, went to Chinese director Yao Tian for his film 500M800M. Going the Distance by Japanese filmmaker Harumoto Yujiro scooped three awards.

Still from '500M800M' directed by Yao Tian. The film has been awarded Cyclo d'Or at the 23rd Asian film festival in Vesoul, France. DR

The FICA international jury, chaired by Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, has awarded the top prize to 500M800M, competing with eight other films, for "its sensitive and authentic illustration of mountain peoples' courage".

Le vainceur du Cyclo d'Or Yao Tian avec Martine et Jean-Marc Therouanne ! #500M800M #Fica2017 pic.twitter.com/TdI9y7Dn5I

— Fica Vesoul (@FICAVesoul) 14 février 2017

The movie tells the story of Hong Fen, a pregnant woman who must leave her village at an altitude of 800m to go a town further down the mountain, so her daughter can attend primary school.

However, the civil servants in the family planning service tell her she cannot keep the child. At the time in China - before 2015 -  it was illegal to have a second child in families living below 800m.

Other FICA 2017 awards:

• Two Cyclo d'Honneur (Honorary Cycle Rickshaw Awards): Iranian director Rakshan Bani-Etemad and Sri Lankan actress Swarna Mallawarachchi
• Grand Prix:  International Jury: Being Born by Mohsen Abdolvahab
• International Jury Prize: Going the Distance by Harumoto Yujiro
• Special Prize: Actress Hiromi Hakogi in Her Mother by Sato Yoshinori
• Netpac Prize: Going the Distance by Harumoto Yujiro
• Guimet Prize:  Baby Beside Me by Son Tae-gyun
• Guimet Coup de Coeur Prize:Going the Distance by Harumoto Yujiro
• Inalco Prize: Emma (Mother) by Riri Riza
• Inalco Coup de Coeur Prize: 500M800M by Yao Tian
• Critics' Prize:Hotel Salvation by Shubashish Bhutiani
• High-School Students' Prize: Resba (The Dark Wind) by Hussein Hassan
• Audience Feature Film Prize: Resba (The Dark Wind) by Hussein Hassan
• Two Documentary awards, the Youth Jury Documentary Film Prize : Le Cri Interdit (Forbidden Scream) by Marjolaine Grappe and Christophe Barreyre
• Audience Documentary Film Prize: An Untouchable Among the Dead by Asil Rais