Winners of the 37th Hundred Flowers Awards, one of the longest-standing and most prestigious honors in the Chinese film industry, were announced in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan in southwest China, on Sunday.
Zhang Yimou took home the Best Director Award for his comedy film "Article 20," inspired by real-life cases about justified defense.
This was the eighth time the 74-year-old director won the Hundred Flowers awards, but the first time to win as best director.
Article 20 also earned Ma Li the Best Actress Award, while Best Actor Award went to Zhu Yilong for the film Lighting Up the Stars, a feel-good tale depicting the father-daughter-like relationship between an orphaned girl and a funeral director.
Director Chen Kaige's epic The Volunteers: To the War, which panoramically retells the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53), won the Best Film Award.
Chang'an, the animated blockbuster hit of last summer, won the Excellent Film Award.
Initiated in 1962, the awards were the first cinematic honors generated through audience voting in China.
Hundred Flowers Awards winners announced
Floodwaters in Lithia, a severely affected area in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida by Hurricane Milton, have not receded yet even four days after the landfall of the hurricane.
Milton hit the west-central coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday night, bringing strong winds, destructive tornadoes, and heavy rains before weakening to a Category 1 as it swiftly barreled across central Florida.
Lithia, situated southwest of Tampa, bore the brunt of the hurricane as it was right in the the path of Milton.
The heavy rainfall triggered by Milton swelled local rivers, resulting in flooding and the submersion of numerous homes, with many areas in Lithia still drenching in floodwaters.
"Milton came through and wrecked it. The storm didn't do too much of the flooding after the fact. About 12 hours after the storm, the water was in my backyard, didn't think it was going to get much higher 36 hours after the storm. Way better than a lot of people behind me, hopefully they're okay behind. But yeah, I got my neighbors. I think they got probably four or five, maybe six feet of water in the house, that yellow house over there," said Vladimir, a resident affected by the floods in Lithia.
Vladimir also said that they have not received any government assistance so far, with only local community organizations offering some food and water to the affected residents.
In parts of western and central Florida, river levels may continue to rise, with multiple areas still under flood alerts.
Rescue agencies caution that the floods are likely to impede the progress of post-disaster relief efforts. By Sunday afternoon, over 840,000 households in Florida were still without power, with almost 30 percent of gas stations unable to provide fuel.
Milton is the fifth hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast so far in 2024, with three of them striking Florida.
Floodwaters linger in Florida's hard-hit area days after Hurricane Milton's landfall
Floodwaters linger in Florida's hard-hit area days after Hurricane Milton's landfall
