Chinese feature film "Beyond the Skies," directed by a university professor, won three awards including best feature film at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival.

The low-budget art-house war film is unusual for a number of reasons. It is directed by Liu Zhihai, a professor at the China Academy of Art with support by the "poetic cinema" creative team, as they called themselves, from the academy.

Embodying unique "poetic" aesthetics from Chinese cinema, "Beyond the Skies" is a heartbreaking story of a patriotic military mission in 1935 during which a group of soldiers sacrifice their lives for the historic mission. The film portrays the relationship between man and war by studying the conflict between individuals' will to live and their sense of calling and loyalty to their country.

The entire film is an artistic exploration and experiment. With ethereal scenes, the film creates a sense of the past with a fantasy-like quality, while its audio-visual language highlights the poetic qualities of the mountains, rivers and people. Amid the poetic ink-painting-style scenery, the film portrays life and death, cruelty and perseverance, and reflects on the impact of war on the individual as well as its meaning for the entire population.

Professor Liu has long been engaged in teaching cinema, directing and project planning. He is dedicated to researching and exploring poetic cinema, as well as promoting academic research into poetic cinema and popularizing audience aesthetics.

"Beyond the Skies" took home the best feature film, best actor and best cinematography awards, making it the biggest winner of the night. In an unusual move, the Tiantan Award jury headed by veteran actress Gong Li opted to award the best actor prize to all the male actors in the film.

The best director award went to Russian filmmaker Andrey Zaytsev for his "A Siege Diary," while Noée Abita was named best actress for her performance in Charlene Favier's French-Belgian production "Slalom." Hamy Ramezan's "Any Day Now" (Finland) took home two awards: the best supporting actor for Shahab Hosseini and best music, while legendary Danish filmmaker Bille August's "The Pact" also scooped two prizes, for best screenplay and best supporting actress for Nanna Skaarup Voss.

However, the award category for best visual effects award was unprecedentedly vacant this year, with no film from the 15 finalists apparently reaching the jurors' exacting standards.

Due to the pandemic travel restrictions, most foreign filmmakers were unable to attend the festival in person. In spite of this, the award winners appeared via video link to make acceptance speeches and thank the Chinese audiences, Tiantan Award jurors and festival organizers. The closing ceremony was also presented in a unique "online style," connecting Chinese filmmakers with the world. There were also a number of special and nostalgic moments during the gala to mark the Chinese film industry's development with several veteran actors reuniting on stage.

Delayed due to the pandemic, the 11th Beijing International Film Festival can also boast other highlights and achievements, such as sold-out screenings of many classic films, as well as master classes and workshops by various industry heavyweights. On Sept. 25, its Beijing Film Market session witnessed a total of 44 key projects being signed and released with 39 enterprises, with a record total contract amount of 35.22 billion yuan ($5.44 billion), an increase of around 6% over last year.

While major events have now concluded, the festival's Film Carnival section will continue until Oct. 6 through China's National Day holiday. In addition to the State Production Base of China Film Group, several new venues have been added, including Flower Sea of the Film Town, Deer World Theme Park and Yangsong Town Comprehensive Cultural Center. A total of 46 interactive activities of film technologies will also be presented.

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