Sri Lanka's 'Riverstone' takes gold at French Asian film festival

It is praised for revealing the crisis that political power in Asia poses to the survival of ordinary people

STRASBOURG, FRANCE:

Sri Lankan director Lalith Rathnayake's "Riverstone", about one man's mountain road trip to his kangaroo court execution, won the top prize Tuesday at France's Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema.

The feature, one of nine fiction films competing for the Cyclo d'Or prize, also scooped two gongs at the Shanghai Film Festival last June.

The jury, chaired by Chinese documentary maker Wang Bing, praised the film for its "concise and powerful narrative, revealing the serious crisis that political power in Asia poses to the survival of ordinary people. It reflects the current situation on the continent".

Among the other films to score honours, "Kurak", a Kyrgyz production about violence against women, date rape drugs and the influence of the ruling elite, won the Grand Jury Award.

The Audience Award went to the Indian film "Full Plate", which deals with the complicated relationship between the country's Hindus and Muslims.

"Riverstone" is the second Sri Lankan film to take the top prize at the French festival, after Aruna Jayawardana's "August Drizzle" in 2012.

More than 100 films from 24 countries were presented over the week, drawing thousands of spectators.

The Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (French: Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia. The festival is held annually in Vesoul, France. It was created in 1995 by Martine and Jean-Marc Thérouanne who have been codirecting the festival since then.

The highest award of the festival is the Golden Cyclo Award. Other awards include the Special Langues "O" Award, given by the French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations and the Emile Guimet Award by the Friends Association of National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet at the festival.