Chinese director Li Ruijun's "River Road" won best film in the Asian competition and the Iranian film "Risk of Acid Rain", directed by Behtash Sanaeiha, won the jury's special prize at the 2nd International Film Festival of Colombo.
Sammera Rangana Naotunna's "Motor Bicycle" was adjudged the best Sri Lankan film at the festival.
This major international film festival organized by the Film Directors' Guild of Sri Lanka and partnered by Ceylon Theatres and National Film Corporation, showcased films from a variety of countries and varied cinema disciplines.
This year's festival had two competitive streams for feature films, under the categories of 'Asian' and 'Sri Lankan' films. Ten critically acclaimed films produced in the Asian region in 2014/2015 were short listed to compete at the final round of the Asian film competition.
"This film festival is the ideal space to bring other existing works and technologies to Sri Lanka. It also gives international and Sri Lankan filmmakers an opportunity to share their work with the Sri Lankan audience, which in turn helps open the eyes of the Sri Lankan audiences to world cinema," guild president Vimukthi Jayasundera, winner of the 2005 Cannes Golden Camera for "The Forsaken Land", told Variety.
Jayasundera said the Guild is in the process of formulating a national policy for Sri Lankan Cinema, "which would protect the interests of the producers, while safeguarding the independence of the directors."