The awards ceremony of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival was held on 16 February. Liao Fan, an alumnus of Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Black Coal, Thin Ice and became the first-ever Chinese best actor in the history the Berlin International Film Festival.
Liao Fan commenced his study at STA’s acting department in 1993 where he was in the same class with Li Bingbing, Ren Quan and Wang Yanan. His teachers included He Yan (head teacher of the class), Wei Shuxian and Li Zhiyu (acting teachers). In 1995, the short play Sharpen the Knife starring Liao Fan, Zhao Qian and Yu Peng represented STA in the National Art Universities and Colleges Short Play Competition and won the only first prize. He also gave an impressive performance in the graduation play of his class Comedy in Dark. After graduation from STA, Liao Fan acted in a series of film and TV works, such as Cherish Our Love Forever, Farewell Vancouver, Symphony of Rain, Death Line and CZ12. In 2005, he won the Best Actor Award at the 18th Singapore International Film Festive for his performance in Green Hat. In 2008, he qualified as a nominee for the Best Actor Award at the 45th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival for his performance in Ocean Flame.
Liao Fan
