The 38th China Golden Rooster Awards officially wrapped in Xiamen after a five-day celebration of Chinese filmmaking, closing with a ceremony that felt both grand and refreshingly forward-looking. Held from 11–15 November 2025 at the Minnan Theatre, the festival opened under the watch of Fujian Provincial Deputy Secretary and Governor Zhao Long, who declared the event underway at a packed opening ceremony.
This year’s festival also drew attention thanks to its city ambassadors, Arthur Chen Feiyu and Victoria Song Qian, while Lan Yu, Deng Chao, Alec Su, and Ni Ni led the main ceremony with a steady mix of formality and on-stage warmth.
The awards race has been building since June, when the China Film Association began accepting submissions from films released between July 2024 and June 2025. By late September, the nominee reveal already had fans predicting potential sweepers.
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| 38th China Golden Rooster Awards: Complete Winners Announced |
Titles like Big World, The Lychee Road, and Detective Chinatown 1900 dominated conversation, while the Best Actor and Best Actress categories became particularly competitive. Jackson Yee secured yet another nomination—his fourth—while Song Jia, Charlene Choi, and other established actresses rounded out a notably strong actor lineup.
The festival’s main visuals kept things thematic, carrying messages of renewal and optimism with concepts like “Golden Rooster Heralds the Dawn” and the symbolic “Feathers of Light.”
Beyond the awards, the festival remained lively with over 50 events including forums, screenings, exhibitions, and a commemorative programme marking the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema.
A brand-new “VR Movie Season” unit also launched this year, signalling a push towards fresh cinematic formats and greater innovation within the industry. With 212 films competing across multiple categories, anticipation was high heading into the final evening.
Winners of the 38th Golden Rooster Awards
The night ended with Her Story (好东西) taking centre stage as the winner of Best Feature Film, cementing the film’s reputation as one of the standout releases of the year. Its thoughtful blend of storytelling and performance clearly resonated with jury members, marking one of the ceremony’s biggest moments.
A second major highlight was the Special Jury Award, which went to The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death (志愿军：存亡之战). The film’s scale, technical strengths, and historical narrative gave it a strong presence throughout the festival, and the special recognition felt well-earned.
The directing prize this year was shared, with Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo jointly taking Best Director for Detective Chinatown 1900 (唐探1900). Their film has been widely discussed for its intricate worldbuilding and polished execution, and their win reflects how well the duo’s creative partnership worked on screen.
In one of the evening’s most-anticipated categories, Jackson Yee secured Best Actor for his performance as Liu Chunhe in Big World (小小的我). His role has been praised across the industry for its emotional precision, and the win marks a significant milestone in his already rapidly growing film career.
Meanwhile, Best Actress went to Song Jia for her role as Wang Tiemei in Her Story. Her nuanced performance helped carry the film to its wider success at the ceremony, and her win felt like a natural outcome of the film’s strong critical reception.
Supporting roles shone just as brightly. Zhong Chuxi won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Xiao Ye in Her Story, giving the film a third major acting recognition. For the men’s category, Yuan Fuhua won Best Supporting Actor thanks to his memorable turn as Uncle Sweet Soup in Dumpling Queen (水饺皇后), a performance that stood out for its charm and emotional depth.
The writing category saw Chen Maoxian and Zheng Weiji claim Best Screenplay for The Last Dance (破·地狱). Their work was noted for its sharp structure and dramatic clarity, characteristics that helped the film attract a great deal of attention during the festival.
Visually, Zhao Fei took home Best Cinematography for The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death, continuing the film’s strong technical streak. Complementing this, the award for Best Music went to Zhai Jinyan for The Lychee Road (长安的荔枝), recognised for its atmospheric score.
Production design also got its moment with Han Zhong and Ma Xiaofei winning Best Art Direction for Decoded (解密), praised for its detailed and immersive sets.
Editing was awarded to Zhou Xinxia for Dreaming of Mother and Home (我和我母亲的疼痛), while Wang Danrong took Best Sound Recording for The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death, marking another technical win for the film.
The festival’s international outlook continued through the Best Foreign Language Film award, which went to the Italian title There’s Still Tomorrow, a film that has been circulating widely across global festival circuits.
In the documentary arena, Your Voice (您的声音) picked up the honour for Best Documentary / Educational Film, recognised for its sincerity and educational impact. Emerging filmmakers were also spotlighted, with Gao Peng winning Best First-time Director for Old Gun (老枪).
Low-budget cinema had its own moment too, as Wish You Longevity (但愿人长久) was named Best Low-Budget Feature Film, highlighting the strength of smaller-scale productions this year. For traditional opera cinema, Double Butterfly Fan (双蝶扇) took home Best Opera Film, showcasing Min Opera’s artistic appeal.
Animation fans saw Ne Zha: The Demon Child Conquers the Sea (哪吒之魔童闹海) named Best Animated Film, continuing the Ne Zha franchise’s strong cultural momentum. The youth category wrapped things up with Wonderful Youth (闪耀少年之空中接力) winning Best Children’s Film.
The evening closed on a respectful note as Qiao Zhen and Xiao Guiyun received the Lifetime Achievement Award (CFLAC), honouring their long-standing contributions to Chinese cinema.