Director Diao Yinan (L) of "Black Coal, Thin Ice" , winner of the Golden Bear for the BestFilm, and Liao Fan, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor for "Black Coal, Thin Ice", pose for photos during the awards ceremony at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Feb 15, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese film 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' wins Golden Bear in 64th Berlinale

Chinese film a hit at Berlin Festival

'Chollywood' goes arty

SHANGHAI -- The Chinese movie that won a top European prize recently has drawn the world's attention to the Chinese film industry.

"Black Coal, Thin Ice", directed by Diao Yinan about a washed-up former cop investigating a series of murders took first prize at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday and is the fourth movie from the Chinese mainland to win the "Golden Bear" after Xiefei's "Women from the Lake of Scented Souls" in 1993, Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" in 1988, and Wang Quan'an's "Tuya's Marriage" in 2007.

Lead actor Liao Fan, who plays the detective, scooped the Silver Bear for Best Actor, the first Chinese actor do so.

Zhou Xing, dean of the school of arts and communication at Beijing Normal University, considers the participation of Chinese movies in the festival this year "encouraging". Their record at international film festivals has been patchy at best in recent years. It had been a bleak season for pure art house films in China.

China's domestic film market has continued to break new ground. In 2013, box office receipts were almost 22 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), with domestic films making about 13 billion yuan, up over 50 percent.

The industry has been widely criticized for giving too much importance to box office and not enough to artistic value. Director Karwai Wong, who was jury president at Berlin last year, reckons that more patience is needed.

"The art of film has a developing cycle, and it takes at least three years, or five years, even ten years, to have a masterpiece. We have to wait," he said.