China’s 2014 wave of films triumphed at the 9th Asian Film Awards this week. The AFAs are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. This year the awards were held at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, and Chinese films nabbed 10 prizes from 14 categories. That’s one award up on last year’s showing.
Gone with the Bullets, follow up to Let the Bullets Fly, landed three awards for best production designer, costume design, and visual effects. It really didn’t have a chance to win anything beyond the technical categories. Blind Massage, from director Lou Ye, won best film and best cinematography. The film used a documentary style with lurching camera movements and blurred textures, helping the story explore the fringe of existence of sight impaired massage therapists as they search for love and stability in Nanjing.
Here’s the complete rundown of the 9th Asian Film Awards winners:
Best Film – Blind Massage, China
Best Director – Ann Hui, The Golden Era, China, Hong Kong
Best Actor – Liao Fan, Black Coal, Thin Ice, China
Best Actress – Bae Doo-na, A Girl At My Door, South Korea
Best Supporting Actor – Wang Zhiwen, The Golden Era, China, Hong Kong
Best Supporting Actress – Ikewaki Chizuru, The Light Shines Only There, Japan
Best Newcomer – Zhang Huiwen, Coming Home, China
Best Screenwriter – Diao Yinan, Black Coal, Thin Ice, China
Best Editor – Gareth Evans, The Raid 2: Berandal, Indonesia
Best Cinematographer – Zeng Jian, Blind Massage, China
Best Composer – Mikey McCleary, Margarita, with a Straw, India
Best Costume Designer – William Chang Suk-ping, Gone with the Bullets, China
Best Production Designer – Liu Qing, Gone with the Bullets, China
Best Visual Effects – Rick Sander, Christoph Zollinger, Gone with the Bullets, China
Lifetime Achievement Awards – Im Kwon-taek, South Korea
Excellence in Asian Cinema – Nakatani Miki, Japan
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