On October 15, 2025, the nominations for the 18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) were officially announced. Chinese actress Xin Zhilei was shortlisted for Best Actress for her masterful portrayal of Zeng Meiyun in the film "Sun in the Sky." Just one month after winning the Best Actress award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival for the same role, her recent success in securing two major international film awards has heightened audience anticipation for the upcoming November 7th release of "Sun in the Sky."
Poster of "The Sun Rises" which will be released on November 7
Since its inception in Brisbane, Australia in 2007, the Asia Pacific Film Awards has been renowned for its diverse judging perspectives and professional selection criteria, with a jury comprised of film professionals from various countries. Previously, Zhang Ziyi and Lü Zhong have won Best Actress for "The Grandmaster" and "The Intruder," respectively; while Chen Daoming and Wang Baoqiang have won Best Actor for "Aftershock" and "Hello, Mr. Tree."
This year's nominees include "Sun at Midnight," "Ordinary Accident," "Days on the Road," "Magellan," and "Samsara," while Xin Zhilei's "Sun at Midnight," Liu Qingyun's "Dad," Ariel Bronze's "Yes," Georges Habaz's "Homesick," and Khairiah Nathmy's "The Pilgrimage" are nominated for Best Performance. Shu Qi is nominated for Best Screenplay for "Girl." The awards ceremony will be held on November 27.
In "Sun in the Sky," Xin Zhilei plays Zeng Meiyun, a clothing store owner in a small Lingnan town. She embodies the complex struggles of human nature, caught between a rekindled love and the pressures of reality. To embody the character, she appeared makeup-free, with details like the wrinkles on her face and the lacerations on her hands accurately capturing her character's idiosyncrasies. In her scenes opposite Zhang Songwen, her emotional transitions from restrained forbearance to tears are crystal clear. An unanswered phone call and the anxious search for a figure pierce the screen without dialogue, earning her acclaim as "the best performance of the year."
Xin Zhilei wins Venice Film Festival Best Actress award
Looking back on Xin Zhilei's 14-year acting career, the explosive recognition stems from long-term accumulation: from the vicissitudes of life in the cold river water in "The Map of the Yangtze River", to the charming Li Li in "Flowers", to the highlight performance of the 120-minute monologue in the drama "Preliminary Evidence", each vivid and solid role witnessed the journey of this Hegang girl who did not come from a professional background to become the heroine of her own life.