Korea’s Mother won the top honor at the 4th Asian Film Awards, picking up Best Picture, while Chinese and Hong Kong films sweeped the other major award categories. After the grand opening of HKIFF on Sunday night, the ceremony has been held on the following day, adding an extra kick to the film festival. Bong Joon-ho’s murder mystery predictably won in a category that has previously been dominated by Korean films. Not surprisingly, the film also won for the Best Actress (Kim Hye-ja) and the Best Screenwriting was handed over to Joon-ho and Park Eun-kyo (see pic below).
While Mother was arguably the big winner in the more hyped awards top tier titles; it was actually Chinese and Hong Kong films that dominated the rest of the field. Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor went to the tandem of veteran Chinese actor Wang Xueqi and Hong Kong pop star Nicholas Tse for Bodyguards and Assassins. Hong Kong actress Wai Ying-hung grabbed the Best Supporting Actress nod for her well praised performance for At the End of DayBreak (see pic below). Also Ng Meng Hui from the same film picked up the Best Newcomer Award.
City of Life and Death which received plenty of praise at the Toronto Film Festival claimed the Best Director and Best Cinematographer awards, which came as a surprise to some of the journalists covering the ceremony - undoubtedly it was a great night for the Chinese and Hong Kong films.
As for the other news for the night, Indian acclaimed actor Amitabh Bachchan was presented with Life Achievement Award. Chinese director Zhang Yimou was also honored with the Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema.
Here’s a complete list of awards and winners:
Best Film
Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
City of Life and Death - China
Lola - The Philippines
* Mother - South Korea
No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti - Taiwan
Parade - Japan
Best Director
BONG Joon-ho - Mother South Korea
Asghar FARHADI - About Elly - Iran
* LU Chuan - City of Life and Death - China
Brillante MENDOZA - Lola - The Philippines
SONO Sion - Love Exposure - Japan
Yonfan - Prince of Tears - Hong Kong / Taiwan
Best Actor
ASANO Tadanobu - Villon's Wife - Japan
HUANG Bo - Cow - China
MATSUMOTO Hitoshi - Symbol - Japan
SONG Kang-ho - Thirst - South Korea
* WANG Xueqi - Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
Best Actress
BAE Doo-na - Air Doll - Japan
* KIM Hye-ja - Mother - South Korea
LI Bingbing - The Message - China
MATSU Takako - Villon's Wife - Japan
Sandrine PINNA - Yang Yang - Taiwan
Best Newcomer
Sonam KAPOOR - Delhi 6 - India
KIM Sae-ron - A Brand New Life - South Korea
LI Yuchun - Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
* NG Meng Hui - At the End of Daybreak - Malaysia / Hong Kong / South Korea
ZHU Xuan - Prince of Tears - Hong Kong / Taiwan
Best Supporting Actor
EITA - Dear Doctor - Japan
HUANG Xiaoming - The Message - China
TOU Chung-Hua - The Warrior and the Wolf - China
* Nicholas TSE - Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
WON Bin - Mother - South Korea
Best Supporting Actress
ANDO Sakura - A Crowd of Three - Japan
HIROSUE Ryoko - Villon's Wife - Japan
KIM Kkobbi - Breathless - South Korea
* WAI Ying-hung - At the End of Daybreak - Malaysia / Hong Kong / South Korea
YAN Ni - Cow - China
Best Screenwriter
Asghar FARHADI - About Elly - Iran
HONG Sang-soo - Like You Know It All - South Korea
* PARK Eun-kyo / BONG Joon-ho - Mother - South Korea
PHAN Dang Di - Adrift - Vietnam
WAI Ka-fai / AU Kin-yee - Written By - Hong Kong
Best Cinematographer
* CAO Yu - City of Life and Death - China
CHENG Siu-keung - Vengeance - Hong Kong
CHUNG Chung-hoon - Thirst - South Korea
LY Thai Dzung - Adrift - Vietnam
Jake POLLOCK - Yang Yang - Taiwan
Best Production Designer
HAYASHIDA Yuji - Yatterman - Japan
* Alain-Pascal HOUSIAUX / Patrick DECHESNE / LEE Tian-Jue - Face - Taiwan
Kenneth MAK - Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
RYU Seong-hie - Thirst - South Korea
XIAO Haihang / YANG Haoyu - The Message - China
Best Composer
HOANG Ngoc Dai - Adrift - Vietnam
JANG Yeong-gyu / LEE Byung-Hoon - Running Turtle - South Korea
LIU Tong - City of Life and Death - China
* LO Ta-Yu - Vengeance - Hong Kong
SAITO Kazuyoshi - Fish Story - Japan
Best Editor
* Lee CHATAMETIKOOL - Karaoke - Malaysia
KONG Chi-leung / CHAN Chi-wai - Overheard - Hong Kong
MOON Sae-kyung - Mother - South Korea
Kats SERRAON - Lola - The Philippines
TANG Hua / ZHANG Yifan / DU Yuan - Crazy Racer - China
Best Visual Effects
FUJITA Takuya / NOZAKI Koji - Goemon - Japan
WANG Jianxiong / Jimmy CHEN / LI Liping - Crazy Racer - China
NG Yuen-fai / Chas CHAU Chi-shing / TAM Kai-kwan - The Storm Warriors - Hong Kong
SESHITA Hiroyuki - Symbol - Japan
* YI Zeonhyoung - Thirst - South Korea
Best Costume Designer
Tina KALIVAS / Vaughan ALEXANDER - Goemon - Japan
* Christian LACROIX / Anne DUNSFORD / WANG Chia-Hui - Face - Taiwan
Dora NG - Bodyguards and Assassins - Hong Kong / China
SHIM Hyun-soeb - The Sword with No Name - South Korea
WADA Emi - The Warrior and the Wolf - China
Lifetime Achievement Award
Amitabh BACHCHAN - India
The Asian Film Awards for 2009’s Top-Grossing Film Director
John WOO /Terence CHANG - Red Cliff II - Hong Kong
Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema
ZHANG Yimou - China
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