SPRING FEVER WINS BEST SCREENPLAY AT CANNES

The Chinese film SPRING FEVER by Director Lou Ye won the Cannes Festival's Award for Best Screenplay on Sunday, 24th May. Awarded at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, and chosen by a jury headed by French Actress Isabelle Huppert, Director Lou Ye (who also helmed the critically acclaimed Summer Palace in 2007) accepted the prize on behalf of his writer, Feng Mei. Lou shot the sultry movie in secret over two months and told AFP at the film festival that he hoped "to be the last Chinese director ever to be banned, that no one else suffers this." "My films cannot be viewed in China," he told AFP. "My producers are trying to have the ban lifted because it is senseless." Filmed in Nanjing city, the film was one of 20 movies in the running for the Palme d'Or. Lou used a hand-held camera to film actors whose characters become involved in a love triangle. SPRING FEVER is slated for release in the 3rd quarter of 2009.