The movie - which bagged awards for best feature, best actress and best scriptwriter - is about the villagers' efforts to alleviate poverty.

Miao Yue, the scriptwriter and director, says she is thrilled about the honor and expressed gratitude to the villagers.

She spent several months interviewing them before she was inspired to pen their story.

The film stars veteran actor Wang Xueqi and Chen Jin, who took home the best actress award.

In an earlier interview, Miao had said that she had managed to avoid stereotype depictions frequently seen in such films by making the characters as authentic as possible.

"I found a common weakness in such films, in which the lead roles are too perfect and noble in personality to convince viewers.

"In contrast, you can see that in most Hollywood blockbusters the stories may be fantastic but the characters relate to the audience," says Miao, explaining about how she learnt to tell a better story.