Award-winning indy flick Mirrors and Feathers set for China release

Mirrors and Feathers, this year's top winner at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, will be released in more than 430 cinemas around China, including affiliates of the China Arthouse Film Screening Alliance, on July 20.

Previously titled as The Widowed Witch, the film is the directorial debut of Cai Zhijie, a former television show editor.

Blending social satire with biting humor, the story set in rural northern China's centers around a struggling three-time widow who finds herself ostracized by society, and decides to disguise herself as a shaman in order to survive.

With a budget of just around 1 million yuan ($149,000), Cai and his crew toured locations Hebei province and wrapped up filming in just nine days during the depths of winter. Most of the cast members had no previous acting experience.

An annual event to highlight independent and experimental films, the Netherlands-held Rotterdam festival awarded Mirrors and Feathers (then titled The Widowed Witch) the Hivos Tiger Award in January.

In July last year, the movie took home the best picture and best director awards at the FIRST International Film Festival, an annual event held in Xining, Qinghai province. In recent years, the festival has become a major platform for recognizing new talent in Chinese cinema.

The film will also be streamed on the iQiyi online video site from July 29.