Zhao Xiaoding
Winner Profile
Best Cinematography
Cinematographer, Snipers
Jury Citation
Snipers uses a unified, desaturated palette and fluid camera language to build a war film with a distinctive visual style, reflecting the cinematographer's mature visual aesthetics and considerable artistry. The compositions are precise and considered but not conventional, the images are spare, clean and fresh, and the varied camera movement is integrated into the narrative and characterisation, giving the film strong visual impact. Winner of Best Cinematography.
Snipers: Synopsis
The film is based on the deeds of a group of marksmen during the "cold guns and cold artillery" campaign of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. From the winter of 1952 to early 1953, the Chinese People's Volunteers and the UN forces reached a stalemate on the Korean battlefield, and both sides waged low-intensity but frequent sniper warfare, known as the "Cold Guns and Cold Artillery Campaign". Led by their company commander (Zhang Yi), the soldiers of the Fifth Sniper Squad are outstanding marksmen and a serious threat to the enemy, and squad leader Liu Wenwu (Zhang Yu) becomes a prime target. To cripple the squad, the enemy deploys an elite sniper team armed with the most advanced weapons and forces Dayong (Chen Yongsheng) and other squad members into a trap as they try to rescue a comrade. But as the enemy counts on its plan, it does not foresee that Liangliang (Liu Yitie), the scout it is using as bait, holds an even bigger secret...