The Finnish movie "The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic" took home Best Feature Film of the esteemed Tiantan Award at the closing gala of the 12th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) on Saturday.

The film, written and directed by Teemu Nikki, received the award from jury president Li Xuejian and guest award presenter Zhang Yimou, one of China's most renowned directors. A diplomat from the embassy of Finland in Beijing accepted the award on behalf of the director, who connected to the event and celebrated via video link.

The film is shot from the perspective of a blind man, Jaakko, who uses a wheelchair. After Jaakko's long-distance loved one receives terrible news, he decides to travel to her despite his condition, depending on strangers for help. The film also collected the Best Leading Actor for Petri Poikolainen and Best Screenplay. The main role was tailor-made for Poikolainen, who, like his character, has lost his sight and much of his mobility.

This year's Tiantan Award winners were primarily international. Despite three Chinese films in the race, the only Chinese win was 84-year-old Wu Yanshu, who received the Best Actress for her performance in Yang Lina's "Song of Spring." That film told the story of an 85-year-old mother caring for her 65-year-old daughter with Alzheimer's.

"I am fortunate to get this role with a lot of love and strong vitality. More than anyone, I want to thank my co-star Xi Meijuan who played my daughter. I could not have won this award without her," Wu said when accepting the trophy on stage.

Best Director went to Fabien Gorgeart for the French film "The Family." The Swiss film "Unrest" by Cyril Schaublin won two prizes: the inaugural Best Artistic Contribution and Best Cinematography. 

Actress Sigourney Weaver won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the American film "Call Jane." At the same time, Santos Choque from "Utama," a Bolivia-Uruguay-France co-production, took best supporting actor. The French film "Full Time" won the best music award. 

Due to pandemic restrictions, most foreign filmmakers could not travel to China and attend the award event in person but still accepted awards via video link.

The festival received 1,450 domestic and foreign film submissions to compete for its Tiantan Award. After a rigorous selection process, 16 films were shortlisted for the awards, decided by a jury headed by Li Xuejian and with international members including Chinese director Frant Gwo, British director Malcolm Clarke, Argentine director Lucrecia Martel, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, Chinese actress Qin Hailu, and Chinese director and actor Wu Jing. 

The festival closed on Saturday after events were successfully held, including themed forums, a film market, master classes, a film carnival, project pitches, and a Beijing Film Panorama screening of more than 130 domestic and foreign films. The festival aimed to boost the industry's confidence and the film market, find the future direction for the Chinese film industry, and inspire filmmakers worldwide. It received widespread attention and media exposure. For example, there were more than 16.3 billion views of the festival topics on social media.

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