MOVIES - July 6, 1988

They may not be the Oscars, or even the Ozcars (the Australian film awards). But the prestige of the Chinese version of the Academy Awards--known as the Golden Roosters--may be on the rise because this year’s winners, two controversial movies about poor peasants, have also won prizes abroad. “The Old Well” and “Red Sorghum” shared best picture honors with a third movie, “Prairie,” according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday. The Golden Rooster prizes are awarded by a panel of experts from the movie industry. “The Old Well” won top prize at the Tokyo Grand Prix last year and a special prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival. “Red Sorghum” was named top film at the West Berlin Film Festival in February.