“Sandstorm,” a Canadian feature film based on the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice in China won the Gold Award for Best Feature Film at the recent Philafilm International Film Festival in Philadelphia. Now in its 27th season, Philafilm takes pride in showcasing independent film and video artists. The festival is a project of the International Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Based on firsthand accounts of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners, “Sandstorm” tells the story of a mid-level Chinese police officer, He Tian Ying, who is trapped at home with his ailing wife during a horrendous sandstorm. Running out of food, medicine, and water, the couple is despondent not knowing the whereabouts of their young daughter. As a police officer, Mr. He has been directly involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. During his isolation and confinement, he starts to recall a particularly disturbing incident and to experience a spiritual awakening that is guided by his missing daughter.

Written, produced and directed by Michael Mahonen, “Sandstorm” includes novice and veteran performers. Rong Tian makes his acting debut in the complex lead role of He Tian Ying. Lilli Li portrays The Practitioner, whose torture haunts Mr. He. Ms. Li is a dancer, choreographer and actor who practices Falun Gong. For the film, she reenacted scenes of the treatment she suffered while in China.

Filmgoers were clearly moved by “Sandstorm.” Following the screening, filmmaker Alison Newman commented, “I think this is a magnificent film, an important film. The issue of being persecuted for love, or for faith in a belief system that’s kind and compassionate… You would think that a government would want people to be kind, want people to be compassionate - and celebrate that. There’s no reason to be threatened by that...It was a beautiful, beautiful movie.”

Festival Director, Larry Smallwood said, “The depictions in this film of the electronic shock and the forced feeding are unbelievable. Some people would look at it and say, ‘That is not happening. That couldn’t possibly happen today, in 2004’. It’s happening...It’s not something that happened yesterday and then it went away.”

Regarding the award, Mr. Smallwood stated, “To dramatize the story in a way that’s both entertaining but at the same time informative is what the judges saw and what I saw in making this film stand apart from everything else. It is the best film in the festival.”

“Sandstorm” was produced and shot in Canada and made entirely by volunteers from numerous countries, including Canada, the U.S., Sweden, and Australia. Last month, the film earned Best Feature Film honors at the deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In April, Sandstorm was awarded a “Festival Special Prize” at the Law & Society International Film Festival in Moscow, Russia.