Zhang Guoli (left) and Xu Fan, the leads in best picture winner Back to 1942. Jiang Dong / China Daily

Director Feng Xiaogang's disaster epic Back to 1942 was the standout winner at the Tiantan Awards at the third Beijing International Film Festival, which kicked off on April 16.

The film, depicting a famine that killed 3 million people in 1942, won best picture and best visual effects at the closing ceremony on April 23. Zhang Yimou and Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov presented the award.

Mainland actress Yan Bingyan won best actress for her performance in the emotional drama Feng Shui about a woman battling depression. British film Song for Marion won Terence Stamp the award for best actor.

Best director went to Cate Shortland, whose Lore also won best cinematography.

Mikhalkov led the seven-person jury, which included Chinese director Gu Changwei and Zhang Yibai. It is the first time the festival has given awards.

To mourn those killed in a magnitude-7 earthquake that hit Lushan, a small town in Sichuan province, on April 20, organizers changed the red carpet to a deep blue one. Celebrities who walked on it included Jackie Chan, John Woo, Luc Besson and Keanu Reeves.

In addition to the competition, the festival also featured the Beijing Screening, which screened all eight films of the Harry Potter franchise, a retrospective screening of the work of jury leader Mikhalkov, and a restored version of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia.

The Beijing Film Market sees contracts valued at 8.7 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) signed over three days.

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'1942' wins Tiantan Award for best picture

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