The just concluded 64th Berlin Film Festival has proven to the world that Asian cinema has reached a level of sophistication to warrant prime awards including the festival's Golden Bear for a Chinese mystery flick.

Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice), a film by Chinese director, screenwriter and actor Diao Yinan was given the highest honor during the festival while the film's lead actor, Liao Fan, got the Silver Bear for the best actor award.

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In his acceptance speech which he delivered almost close to tears, Diao said "It's really hard to believe that this dream has come true."

Bai Ri Yan Huo, a noir mystery film about an ex-policeman investigating a string of bloody murders, is the first Chinese produced film to win the top award in the Berlin festival since the Chinese drama Tuya de Hunshi (Tuya's Marriage) got the same prestigious award at the 57th Berlin Film Festival in 2007.  Tuya de Hunshi is about an Inner Mongolian herdswoman and her two husbands.

Another top award was given to another Asian, Japan's Haru Kuroki, who garnered the best actress prize for her portrayal of a discreet housemaid in the film Chiisai Ouchi (the Little House) which was set in Tokyo during World War II.

Yoji Yamada, the 82 year old director of the Japanese film, said that his film is an important reminder for modern day Japan of the horrors of war.

Different media groups in the festival had their favorites but many agreed that the Bai Ri Yan Huo deserved the recognition and prize it was awarded. 

Berlin's very own daily, the Der Tagesspiegel, regarded the film as a "respectable" choice.

Spiegel Online had this to say about the Chinese film: "'Bai Ri Yan Huo' is a brilliant genre variation which knows how to self-confidently update its Western prototypes and put them in new contexts."

Of the three Chinese entries to the festival, a second film, Tui Na (Blind Massage), also won for its cinematographer, Zeng Jian, the prestigious Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution.

Diao said the exposure of Chinese films in major film festivals has gained them popularity in Western cinemas.

 "Every time we take our films abroad it seems that there is an ever greater enthusiasm for Chinese cinema," Diao said.