PYIFF 2026 Winners: Final Payment, Congo Boy Take Top Prizes

The 10th Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival (PYIFF 2026) has concluded, revealing its winners across the Fei Mu and Roberto Rossellini Awards. Top honors went to Niu Niu's 'Final Payment' for best film in the Chinese-language Hidden Dragons section and Rafiki Fariala's 'Congo Boy' for best film in the international Crouching Tigers section.

The festival's competitive sections recognized a range of emerging talent. The full list of winners across both main programs is as follows:

Niu Niu's 'Final Payment' secured the Fei Mu best film prize, which carries a cash award of RMB 1 million (approximately $149,000). The festival's policy splits this sum equally between the director for their next project and the film's distributor in China. The film also earned veteran television and film director Niu Jianrong the best actor prize for his debut lead acting role, which happened to be in his daughter's film. He and best actress winner Sun Yi each received a Louis Vuitton accessories box engraved with the festival logo.

In the international section, Rafiki Fariala's 'Congo Boy' won the Roberto Rossellini best film award and a $20,000 prize, also split between the director's next film and the China distributor. The film had previously won best actor in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Prize Allocations and Recipient Details

Winners across categories received significant cash prizes and additional recognitions. Xu Zao won the Unitree best director award for 'Light Pillar', which includes RMB 200,000 (about $29,800) earmarked for his next film. The Fei Mu best short film award, sponsored by Nowness of Meta Media, went to Lenti Liang's 'Our Secrets' and came with RMB 50,000 ($7,450).

In the Pingyao Corner section for student work, Wang Wenting's 'Black Goat' won the Unitree best student short film award, receiving RMB 30,000 ($4,470) and a Unitree robot dog. Special mentions in that section went to Justine Moo's 'Rainforest' and Huang Duojia's 'Whose Home'. Additional awards included the Youth Jury Award for Chen Dongnan's 'Whispers in May' and the PYIFF-NAAC Distribution Award for Zou Jing's 'A Girl Unknown'.

The festival also presented several honorary awards. The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award went to director Ann Hui. The International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award was given to veteran producer and former China Film Group chairman Han Sanping and to festival co-founder and artistic director Marco Müller. Tang Yan, founder and chairman of Hello Group, received the 10th Anniversary Award.

Festival Context and Jury Responses

The 10th edition of PYIFF opened on September 24 with a screening of the 4K restoration of Fei Mu's classic 'Spring In A Small Town'. It concluded with the film 'Good Trip', co-directed by Norris Wong and Hoi Wong. A short film by festival co-founder Jia Zhangke, 'Torino Shadow', which premiered at Cannes 2026, was also screened during the event.

The competition jury was effusive in its praise for the top winners. They stated that 'Final Payment' tore through a small rip to lead viewers into an expansive emotional landscape, with a concise and masterful directorial approach that earned the jury's wholehearted recognition. Regarding 'Congo Boy', the jury said they were unanimously moved by the autobiographical story, told in a simple style echoing neorealism, focusing on a character who confronts his world with optimism.

The festival's Fei Mu Awards focus on first, second, and third films by emerging Chinese-language directors. The Roberto Rossellini Awards highlight work by emerging international directors. The event closed with a final screening of 'Good Trip', co-directed by Norris Wong and Hoi Wong.