Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing has once again become the center of controversy after leaving the Tokyo International Film Festival 2025 empty-handed despite her powerful performance in Mother Bhumi.
According to QQ, the festival officially wrapped up on November 5, but heated debates have continued over the transparency of the judging process. Fan Bingbing was nominated for Best Actress but ultimately did not win, sparking widespread speculation.
In a pre-award statement posted on social media, Fan Bingbing wrote, “Over the past seven years, I’ve overcome countless challenges. Life has truly molded me into a strong woman. I’m proud of our entire team for creating such a wonderful film. I love you all!”
However, because her post appeared before the award ceremony took place, many netizens suspected that the actress had known the results in advance, implying possible internal politics within the festival.
Fan Bingbing was notably active during the event, attending multiple screenings and red-carpet functions to promote Mother Bhumi. Despite her efforts, she did not receive any awards and now reports are surfacing that a Chinese juror may have deliberately blocked her victory.
According to QQ, there were two Chinese jurors at this year’s festival: director Wen Yan and actress Gui Lunmei. Insiders claim that Wen Yan opposed Fan Bingbing’s win, allegedly to avoid criticism that both Best Actor (Wang Chuanjun) and Best Actress could go to Chinese artists which would make the results appear biased.
More dramatically, Wen Yan reportedly refused to present the award if Fan Bingbing won. The reason, insiders say, lies in a personal grudge between the two. Earlier in January 2025, Fan Bingbing served as a juror at the Berlin International Film Festival, where she did not award Wen Yan’s film The Girl Who Wants to Fly, starring Liu Haocun and Wen Qi. Months later, when their positions reversed, Wen Yan allegedly retaliated by pushing Mother Bhumi out of contention in Tokyo.
As a result, Chinese media speculate that Fan Bingbing was “retaliated against by a compatriot juror.” The situation adds to the ongoing outcry from actress Bai Baihe, who accused her film crew of mistreatment at the same festival, further deepening doubts about the fairness of the Tokyo International Film Festival this year.
Actress He Lei also voiced her frustration online, writing: “There are no truly fair awards in this world.” She claimed that certain women had “manipulated” the judging process behind the scenes, alleging that international festivals have lost their artistic purity.
For Fan Bingbing, this marks yet another setback in her long road to career recovery. Since her 2018 tax evasion scandal, she has faced significant barriers in China’s entertainment industry once her domain as the country’s undisputed “red carpet queen.”
Unable to work freely in her homeland, Fan has since sought opportunities abroad, appearing in projects in the U.S., South Korea, and Europe. Her Mother Bhumi performance was seen as a major comeback attempt, and many fans were disappointed to see her efforts go unrecognized in Tokyo.
Fan previously won Best Actress at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2010 for her acclaimed role in Buddha Mountain making her 2025 loss all the more bittersweet.
Sources: K14