Chinese actors win top awards at Berlin festival

Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei won Silver Bear awards as best actor and best actress for the Chinese movie So Long, My Son at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday. It was the first time both awards had been given to Chinese actors.

The film provides a close-up perspective on some of the most controversial topics in China, such as family planning policy and layoffs of factory workers, and tells the stories of grassroots Chinese families over the past 30 years. The movie has aroused the interest of critics and moved some viewers to tears.

Wang and Yong portrayed parents whose only son drowned accidentally in a reservoir. The mother was unable to give birth to another child after an abortion a few years earlier. They also had to deal with difficulties such as layoffs, relocation and a rebellious adopted son.