[News] 5th Asian Film Awards : Apitchatpong Weerasethakul 'Uncle Boonmee' Wins Best Film, 'Poetry' Best Director.

[News] 5th Asian Film Awards : Apitchatpong Weerasethakul 'Uncle Boonmee' Wins Best Film, 'Poetry' Best Director.

With Hong Kong International Film Festival having just opened on 20th, the 5th Asian film awards ceremony were held last night. This year, there was not one film that swept the awards, but it clearly was another strong year for South Korean films. Lee Chang-Dong’s “Poetry” earned him both the Best Director and the Best Screenplay award, while Korean thesp Ha Jung-woo won the Best Actor award for his performance in “The Yellow Sea”.

Another Korean winner was Yoon Yeo-jeong, who won the best supporting actress for her role in “The Housemaid”. The Chinese film “Let The Bullets Fly” was nominated for six awards, but only grabbed the Best Costume Design award. Another hot favorite before the results were known was “Aftershock”, a Chinese mainland and Hong Kong co-production based on the tragic story of the aftermath of Tangshan Great Earthquake, earned Best Visual Effect and Chinese actress Xu Fan the Best Actress award. The fan favorite “Ip Man 2” earned veteran action star Sammo Hung Kam-po the Best Supporting Actor award.

The top ward of Best Film was given to the Palme d’Or winner "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Live” -- making it the first Thai film to do so in the category that had been dominated by Korean films. Also worth noting, Kim Dong-ho, the founding director of Pusan International film festival, was given the award for outstanding contribution to cinema.

The Hong Kong film producer Raymond Chow received a Lifetime Achievement Award for helping the Hong Kong Kung Fu and action cinema come to the international stage and discovering stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.


The 2011 Asian Film Award winners:

Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Apitchatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)

Director: Lee Chang-dong, Poetry (South Korea)

Actor: Ha Jung-woo, The Yellow Sea (South Korea)

Actress: Xu Fan, Aftershock (China/Hong Kong)

Newcomer: Mark Chao You-Ting, Monga (Taiwan)

Supporting Actor: Sammo Hung Kam-po, Ip Man 2 (Hong Kong)

Supporting Actress: Yoon Yeo-jeong, The Housemaid (South Korea)

Screenwriter: Lee Chang-dong, Poetry (South Korea)

Cinematographer: Mark Lee Ping-Bin, Norwegian Wood (Japan)

Production Designer: Yuji Hayashida, 13 Assassins (Japan)

Music Score: Indian Ocean, Peepli Live (India)

Editing: Nam Na-young, I Saw the Devil (South Korea)

Visual Effects: Phil Jones, Aftershock (China/Hong Kong)

Costume Designer: William Chang Suk-ping, Let The Bullets Fly (China/Hong Kong)



Special Asian Film Awards:

Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema: Kim Dong-ho

Lifetime Achievement: Raymond Chow

Promotion of Asian Cinema: Fortissimo Films

2010 Top-Grossing Film: Aftershock