[1] The film tells the story of a father and son in China's interior Gansu province.

It won the Golden Alexander, the top award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival.

The Red Awn found success on the international film festival circuit early on.

Besides winning the FIPRESCI Prize at Pusan, The Red Awn was an official selection of the 2007 International Thessaloniki Film Festival where it premiered on November 24, 2007.

[3] On November 11, 2008, the film won the Jury Grand Prize in the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.