According to Tinh Đảo newspaper, at the beginning of September, the film Feng Shen 1 won the Best Genre Film award at the Artistic Contribution Awards – an event held concurrently with the 80th Venice Film Festival. Director Ô Nhĩ Thiên attended the award ceremony directly. The team has also updated a new poster for the film with information highlighting the award-winning work at this prestigious international film festival.
The Feng Shen 1 team receiving the award at a hotel in Venice
The Feng Shen 1 team updates information on the official page about the award at the 80th Venice Film Festival
However, many film critics in China pointed out that the Feng Shen 1 team’s award does not represent the main activities of the Venice Film Festival. This was merely a side event held alongside the main international event. Many people searched for information on the festival’s official website and discovered that Feng Shen 1 did not participate in any of the main award categories this year. As a result, many netizens believe that the Chinese team went to Italy not to compete for awards but just to promote and attract attention.
A Chinese film critic noted that about 30 film crews and personalities similar to the Feng Shen 1 team attended the Artistic Contribution Awards ceremony. The event took place at a hotel near the main venue of the festival. This year, only 13 award categories were presented under the festival’s official framework.
Information about the Feng Shen 1 team garnered more attention when the Venice Film Festival organizing committee announced that there were many agencies abusing the festival’s reputation to host events related to awards in the film industry, leading many to confuse these with the main awards presented during the festival. For instance, Spanish actor Gabriel Guevara was arrested by Italian police for alleged sexual assault shortly after receiving a symbolic award. The organizing committee quickly clarified: “The appearance of actor Gabriel Guevara at Venice and a certain news outlet’s report on his arrest is not related to any activities or productions of the 80th Venice International Film Festival.”
The Venice Film Festival organizing committee clarifies the situation regarding several agencies misusing its reputation to host film-related events
Feng Shen 1 is one of the recent blockbuster successes from China. The film boasts a budget of up to $400 million (over 9,000 trillion VND). In the near future, it is expected to continue being screened in many countries across Europe and America. According to plans, the team will produce two more sequels to the film. Many netizens liken this work to The Fate of the Furious Chinese version due to its large-scale production and significant investment. Director Ô Nhĩ Thiên has invited various companies and experts from Hollywood, previously involved in big projects such as Star Trek and Star Wars, to provide consulting for the film.
According to QQ, Feng Shen 1 is regarded as a milestone in terms of visual effects, particularly noted for its intricate CGI and high precision in character depiction. The film features many dramatic scenes that demand meticulous attention to detail.
A scene from the film
