The Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema honors the Tibetan film “Snow Leopard” by Pema Tseden

The Vesoul Festival, whose jury was chaired this year by the Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, rewarded the Tibetan director for the third time with the Cyclo d’or.

The jury of the Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema (Fica), which took place from February 6 to 13, awarded its Cyclo d’or to the film Snow Leopard, by Pema Tseden. The Tibetan director, who died prematurely in May 2023, is awarded this distinction for the third time.

The director’s seventh feature film, Snow Leopard is a “rare pearl”, according to the members of the festival jury. “The mysterious relationship between the monk and the snow leopard reveals the traditional worldview of the Tibetan people – a realm of spiritual emotions that are difficult to express,” they said on February 13 in a press release.

“The director skillfully captures this enchanting world with great precision, making it a remarkable and deeply moving achievement”. He “interprets the conflicts of the human world through a spiritual prism”, added the members of the jury. Its presentation during the festival was a French first.

Pema Tseden shot his first feature film in Tibet, The Silent Holy Stones, in 2005. As an author, he has written in both Chinese and Tibetan. Born in 1969, the director had already won two Cyclo d’or at the festival, in 2016 for Tharlo, the Tibetan shepherd and in 2019 for Jinpa.

Commitment and Taiwan in the spotlight

The jury which awarded a third Cyclo d’or to the filmmaker was chaired by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Taiwanese director Zero Chou was also part of it, and was crowned with the Honorary Golden Cyclo alongside Duu-Chih TuTaiwanese sound engineer.

The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Scream, by Kazakh director Kenzhebek Shaikakov, who according to the jury proposes “a style of magical realism that is truly captivating”. “The director’s approach to condemning nuclear testing easily resonates with audiences.”

For this 30th edition, the festival selection was proposed around the theme of commitment, as well as a look at Taiwanese cinema. In total, 90 films from 29 countries from the Near to the Far East, notably Kazakhstan, Thailand and Nepal, were selected. Seventeen feature films were in competition.