Home Coming director takes home his first individual award

Established Chinese filmmaker Rao Xiaozhi has recently taken home the best director award, one of the top honors at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival, in India.

Launched in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, in 2018, the SCO film festival was held in Mumbai between Jan 27 and Jan 31, showcasing a total of 57 films, consisting of 14 titles eligible for awards and 43 flicks for screening.

Rao received the best director award for Home Coming, the highest-grossing blockbuster of the National Day holiday in 2022. Inspired by true events, the movie recounts two Chinese diplomats risking their lives to evacuate many Chinese nationals stranded in a turbulent country.

A representative from the Chinese consulate-general in Mumbai took to the stage to receive the award on behalf of Rao during the closing ceremony, held in Nehru Centre in Mumbai, on Tuesday.

Rao, who delivered his appreciations via video, said it marks the first time he has won a movie award by himself, adding that he wishes to helm more quality work about China and its people.