The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy to recognise the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.

Asian Film Awards
Current: 17th Asian Film Awards
Awarded forExcellence in cinematic achievements
Location
CountryAsia
Presented byHong Kong International Film Festival Society (2007–2012)
Asian Film Awards Academy (2013–present)
First awarded2007
Last awarded2024
Websitewww.afa-academy.com
← 16th · Current: 17th · 18th →

History

edit
 
The former Asian Film Awards trophy designed by William Chang used in the 3rd Asian Film Awards in 2009.

On January 29, 2007, Wilfred Wong, the Chairman of Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, announced the launch of the Asian Film Awards (AFA).[1] The 1st Asian Film Awards occurred on March 20, 2007, on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It honoured the best film achievements of the Asian cinema in the year 2006. It was attended by about 4000 guests from around the world.[2]

The AFA Presentation Ceremony takes place as part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong Opening Gala. Eminent filmmakers and superstars from around the world are invited to bestow awards upon the winner(s) of each category, making the ceremony a dazzling extravaganza as well as an influential cultural event.[3]

Throughout its history and since its inauguration in 2007, Chinese-language films and professionals from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have dominated the awards.[4][5][6][7]

The trophy

edit

On February 13, 2007, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council hosted a celebration of Park Chan-wook's I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK announcement of being the opening film for the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival at a reception in Berlin. At the same event the AFA trophy, designed by award-winning production designer, William Chang, was also unveiled.[8]

According to William Chang, his inspiration behind the artwork was his admiration to a combination of architectural drawings and his own collection of antique statues. Measuring 36 cm (14 in), the trophy symbolises the joy and the accomplishment of all the award winners.[9]

The current trophy is gold as a whole but had changed significantly before. The first trophies that were handed in 2007 has its trophy in black with a white base. In the 2nd AFA, the current gold colour was used as whole but in 2009 for its 3rd AFA instead of a gold base, it has a black base. Then in 2010, the whole gold trophy had returned and now used nowadays.

Eligibility, nominations and voting

edit

To be eligible, films must be feature length (more than 60 minutes); be in 35mm or 70mm film format or digital format suitable for exhibition in cinemas; and be fiction films from Asia. This encompasses all the cinemas of Asia: East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia. Additionally, the films must have English subtitles.

The films must have been released between January 1 and December 31 of the year preceding the awards ceremony, and have been exhibited through a domestic theatrical release and distribution to at least one other country; been premiered at an international film festival; or received national film awards.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society compile the preliminary nomination list with the participation of the two parties who can submit films for the consideration to be included in the nomination list which are:

  • the Asian Film Awards Official Submission Organisations are composed of recognised film organizations from different Asian territories. Each Official Submission Organisation can submit up to three films to represent their territory.
  • the Asian Film Awards Jury is composed of film professionals from around the world. Each Jury Member can recommend up to two additional nominations in each Category.

After the Society finalised the nomination list, the Jury and the Voting Members (composed of previous winners from past AFA) would then vote in an Online Balloting System where it would be counted, tallied and kept confidential until the day of the AFA by a reputable firm of certified public accountants.

Award categories

edit

Special Awards

edit

These special awards are not always presented on a consistent annual basis. The Society chooses the special awards to be given for a certain year.

  • Asian Film Award for Excellence in Scholarship in Asian Cinema
  • Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema *
  • Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia Award *
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: since 2008
  • The Edward Yang New Talent Award: since 2008
  • The Asian Film Award for Top-Grossing Film Director: since 2009
  • The Asian Film Award for Top-Grossing Asian Film: since 2011
  • Award for the Promotion of Asian Cinema: since 2011
  • Excellence in Asian Cinema Award: since 2013
  • The Next Generation Award: since 2016

People's Choice Awards

edit
  • People's Choice for the Best Asian Film: 2009 (defunct)
  • People's Choice for Best Actor *: since 2010
  • People's Choice for Best Actress *: since 2010

^* The asterisk indicates the awards that were renamed for a certain Asian Film Awards Presentation Ceremony. Their first and original names are used in this list.

Major award winners

edit
Year Best Film Best Director Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best New Director
2007
1st
  The Host   Jia Zhangke
for Still Life
  Song Kang-ho
for The Host
  Miki Nakatani
for Memories of Matsuko
No award No award No award
2008
2nd
  Secret Sunshine   Lee Chang-dong
for Secret Sunshine
  Tony Leung
for Lust, Caution
  Jeon Do-yeon
for Secret Sunshine
  Sun Honglei
for Mongol
  Joan Chen
for The Sun Also Rises
2009
3rd
  Tokyo Sonata   Hirokazu Kore-eda
for Still Walking
  Masahiro Motoki
for Departures
  Zhou Xun
for The Equation of Love and Death
  Jung Woo-sung
for The Good, the Bad, the Weird
  Gina Pareño
for Service
2010
4th
  Mother   Lu Chuan
for City of Life and Death
  Wang Xueqi
for Bodyguards and Assassins
  Kim Hye-ja
for Mother
  Nicholas Tse
for Bodyguards and Assassins
  Kara Hui
for At the End of Daybreak
2011
5th
  Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives   Lee Chang-dong
for Poetry
  Ha Jung-woo
for The Yellow Sea
  Xu Fan
for Aftershock
  Sammo Hung
for Ip Man 2
  Youn Yuh-jung
for The Housemaid
2012
6th
  A Separation   Asghar Farhadi
for A Separation
  Donny Damara
for Lovely Man
  Deanie Ip
for A Simple Life
  Lawrence Ko
for Jump Ashin!
  Shamaine Buencamino
for Niño
2013
7th
  Mystery   Takeshi Kitano
for Outrage Beyond
  Eddie Garcia
for Bwakaw
  Nora Aunor
for Thy Womb
  Nawazuddin Siddiqui
for Talaash: The Answer Lies Within
  Makiko Watanabe
for Capturing Dad
2014
8th
   The Grandmaster   Wong Kar-wai
for The Grandmaster
  Irrfan Khan
for The Lunchbox
  Zhang Ziyi
for The Grandmaster
  Huang Bo
No Man's Land
  Yeo Yann Yann
for Ilo Ilo
2015
9th
  Blind Massage   Ann Hui
for The Golden Era
  Liao Fan
for Black Coal, Thin Ice
  Bae Doona
for A Girl at My Door
  Wang Zhiwen
The Golden Era
  Ikewaki Chizuru
for The Light Shines Only There
2016
10th
    The Assassin   Hou Hsiao-hsien
for The Assassin
  Lee Byung-hun
for Inside Men
  Shu Qi
for The Assassin
  Asano Tadanobu
forJourney to the Shore
  Zhou Yun
for The Assassin
2017
11th
  I Am Not Madame Bovary   Na Hong-jin
for The Wailing
  Asano Tadanobu
for Harmonium
  Fan Bingbing
for I Am Not Madame Bovary
  Lam Suet
for Trivisa
  Moon So-ri
for The Handmaiden
2018
12th
  Youth   Yuya Ishii
for The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue
  Louis Koo
for Paradox
  Sylvia Chang
for Love Education
  Yang Ik-june
for Wilderness
  Zhang Yuqi
for Legend of the Demon Cat
  Dong Yue
for The Looming Storm
2019
13th
  Shoplifters   Lee Chang-dong
for Burning
  Kōji Yakusho
for The Blood of Wolves
   Samal Yeslyamova
for Ayka
  Zhang Yu
for Dying to Survive
  Kara Hui
for Tracey
  Oliver Siu Kuen Chan
for Still Human
2020
14th
  Parasite   Wang Xiaoshuai
for So Long, My Son
  Lee Byung-hun
for The Man Standing Next
  Zhou Dongyu
for Better Days
  Ryo Kase
for To the Ends of the Earth
  Ko Shu-chin
for A Sun
  Hikari
for 37 Seconds
2021
15th
  Wife of a Spy   Zhang Yimou
for One Second
  Yoo Ah-in
for Voice of Silence
  Yū Aoi
for Wife of a Spy
  Kim Hyun-bin
for The Silent Forest
  Aju Makita
for True Mothers
  Hong Eui-jeong
for Voice of Silence
2022
16th
  Drive My Car   Hirokazu Kore-eda
for Broker
  Tony Leung Chiu-wai
for Where the Wind Blows
  Tang Wei
for Decision to Leave
  Hio Miyazawa
for Egoist
  Kim So-jin
for Emergency Declaration
  Jigme Trinley
for One and Four
2023
17th
  Evil Does Not Exist   Hirokazu Kore-eda
for Monster
  Koji Yakusho
for Perfect Days
  Jiang Qinqin
for Dwelling by the West Lake
  Park Hoon
for 12.12: The Day
  Rachel Leung
for In Broad Daylight
  Nick Cheuk
for Time Still Turns the Pages

Presentation Ceremonies

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "33 FILMS COMPETE FOR 1st ASIAN FILM AWARDS". Asian Film Awards. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  2. ^ "'THE HOST' TAKES TOP HONORS AT ASIAN FILM AWARDS" (PDF). Asian Film Awards. 20 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Introduction- Asian Film Awards". Asian Film Awards. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Nominees & Winners". Asian Film Awards. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  5. ^ "ASIAN FILM AWARDS DOMINATED BY CHINESE". Macau Daily Times. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. ^ "'Blind Massage' The Big Winner as China Dominates Asian Film Awards". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. ^ "'Madame Bovary' Takes Top Prize at Asian Film Awards". Variety. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ^ "BERLINALE CONTENDER "I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK" TO OPEN 2007 HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL". Asian Film Awards. 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  9. ^ "Trophy- Asian Film Awards". Asian Film Awards. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  10. ^ Song Il-seop (8 October 2021). "[MD포토] 김규리-이승국, '저희가 사회 맡았어요'" [[MD Photo] Gyu-ri Kim and Seung-guk Lee, 'We hosted the show']. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  11. ^ Sabastian Nadilo (8 October 2021). "15th Asian Film Awards – Winners 2021". Asian Film Festivals. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  12. ^ Kim Bo-young (6 January 2023). "'헤어질 결심', AFA 10개 부문 노미네이트…아이유 신인상 후보 [공식]" ['Decision to break up', nominated in 10 AFA categories... IU Rookie Award Candidate [Official]]. E-Daily Star (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  13. ^ "[16th AFA]'헤어질 결심' 3관왕 달성..양조위·탕웨이 남녀주연상(종합)" [[16th AFA] 'Decision to Break Up' achieved 3 crowns.]. Herald POP (in Korean). Naver. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
edit