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# Xin Zhilei wins Best Actress prize at Venice

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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc2dd697200ba8f8/6a4b523b8df1a6af2d6e1576/2024DCE3D2DC4C968640228061FEFAC4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

_This content was paid for and prepared by China Daily, an official publication of the People's Republic of China. The TIME editorial and advertising departments were not involved in the creation of this content._

Chinese actress Xin Zhilei holds her Best Actress trophy which she won for _The Sun Rises on Us All_ during the closing ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 6 in Venice, Italy. LI JING / XINHUA

By XU FAN

Chinese star Xin Zhilei won the Best Actress award at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 6, becoming the second actress from the Chinese mainland to receive the honor, more than three decades after Gong Li’s historic win in 1992.

With her vivid portrayal of a woman trapped in a love triangle in the arthouse flick _The Sun Rises on Us All_, Xin received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress from Zhao Tao, also a famous Chinese actress who served as one of this year’s international jurors.

Directed by Cai Shangjun, who is regarded as a leading figure in Chinese neo-noir cinema, the film — shot in multiple cities across South China’s Guangdong province — tells the story of two former lovers who reunite after seven years, only to find their encounter ending in tragedy at the hands of an inescapable fate.

Overcome with joy, Xin, the 39-year-old actress, tearfully said in her acceptance speech: “This feels like a dream. Over a decade ago, when I first started in the film industry, I made a bold claim — I wanted to become an international superstar on a world-class stage. Back then, I faced a lot of ridicule.”

Having begun her showbiz career in 2005, the actress overcame many difficulties to stand on the award stage in Venice, one of the three most prestigious film festivals in Europe. She said she felt proud of herself and encouraged all women by saying: “If you have a dream, dare to dream big and dare to go for it. Who knows — one day it might just come true, just like it did for me.”

The film’s title is inspired by a line from a Cantonese Opera, which is based on a script by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright Tang Xianzu. The original work depicts a tragic romance between a poet and a young woman during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Xin revealed she was captivated by her character — an ordinary person striving to overcome a painful past and build a better life. She explained that the character is difficult to define as simply “good” or “bad,” and that audiences may find her choices challenging to understand.

Recounted through a delicate and nuanced narrative, the film focuses not on a dramatic plotline, but on the inner emotional journey of a woman grappling with her own tsunami-like feelings, added Xin.

A native of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, Xin first earned international recognition for the 2016 Chinese film _Crosscurrent_, which won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Cinematography at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Her most popular roles include an emperor’s favored concubine in the hit costume drama _Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace_ (2018) and a mysterious restaurant operator in Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai’s directorial TV debut _Blossoms Shanghai_ (2023).

In an earlier interview, director Cai recalled that because the film is told from a woman’s perspective, it placed particularly high demands on casting the female lead. After an initial struggle — having reached out to around 20 actresses and 10 actors for the two leading roles — Cai finally chose Xin, with the recommendation from his wife and co-writer, Han Nianjin, who saw Xin on a variety show and was impressed by her natural, easygoing and decisive temperament.

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