China’s Xin Zhilei has won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese woman to receive the honour in 14 years.

The 39-year-old brought the Golden Lion trophy home on Saturday for her role in The Sun Rises on Us All , directed by Cai Shangjun.

The film sees Xin play the harassed owner of a fashion retail business who is trying to reconcile with her former lover, who served time in prison for a crime she had committed.

“I feel like I am dreaming,” Xin said in her acceptance speech, adding that she had been dreaming of standing on an international stage since she became a film actress more than a decade ago.

“Look, today I am finally here ... I am proud of myself. I am also proud to be a Chinese actress standing once again on the stage of the Venice Film Festival,” she said.

“I also want to tell all the girls to boldly chase your dreams – who knows, one day they might come true, just like they did for me.”

The last time a Chinese actress won the award was in 2011, when Hong Kong cinema icon Deanie Ip Tak-han took home the prize, following mainland China’s film queen Gong Li, who became the first Chinese actress to win in 1992.