Highlights. Fashion. Full List of Winners at the 17th Asian Film Awards

The 17th Asian Film Awarding ceremony was held in Hong Kong on March 10, 2024. It is one of the biggest awarding ceremonies for film excellence in Asia.

The Asian Film Award has been co-founded and jointly presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Busan (South Korea) International Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival.

This year's edition was held at the Grand Theater, Xiqu Center, West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. It aired live on Hong Kong's TVB channel and live-streamed on the official You Tube channel of the Asian Film Awards.

Fan Bingbing

The ceremony began with a red carpet gala presentation, attended by some of Asia's brightest stars from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China.

Fan Bingbing graced the red carpet in an elaborate white silk dress designed by French couture designer, Stephane Rolland.

Chinese celebrity couples and veteran actors, Jiang Qinqin and Chen Jianbin jointly presented the Best in Screenplay award.

Jiang Qinqin also won this year's Best Actress for her portrayal in the movie, Dwelling by the West Lake, in which she co-starred with Wu Lei (she played Wu Lei's mother in the movie) and her husband, Chen Jianbin. It was screened in Tokyo International Film Festival last year.

Chinese celebrity couple, Jiang Qinqin and Chen Jianbin

Jiang Qinqin and Chen Jianbin got married in 2006 after co-starring in the C-drama, Qiao's Grand Courtyard. They have two children together. Both are still active in making movies and television series in China.

Gu Xiaogang, Jiang Qinqin, and Chen Jianbin

Dwelling by the West Lake received three nominations - Best Actress, Best Director for Gu Xiaogang, and Best Original Music, winning one (Best Actress).

Hong Kong actor, Tony Leung, one of this year's nominees for Best Actor (for the Hong Kong movie, Goldfinger), attended the ceremony accompanied by his wife, Carina Lau.

Tony Leung and Carina Lau

Thai actor, Mario Maurer, who is one of the youth ambassadors of the 17th Asian Film Awards, and Hong Kong singer and actress, Charlene Choi, presented the Best in Costume Design Award.

Thai actor Mario Maurer, and Hong Kong actress Charlene Choi presented the Best in Costume Design Award

South Korean actress, Lee Young-ae, was a vision of charm and loveliness in her delicate peach tulle dress with embellishments. She won the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award. sharing the honor with Japanese actor, Suzuki Ryohei.

South Korean actress, Lee Young-ae

This year's main event was hosted by Jonathan Wong and Grace Chan. Jonathan is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. While Grace Chan is a Hong Kong-born Canadian actress and beauty queen. She won Miss Hong Kong 2013 and Miss Chinese International 2014.

Hong Kong celebrities Jonathan Wong and Grace Chan hosted the 17th Asian Film Awards

Fan Bingbing, one of the presenters of the Awards

The date of Asian Film Awards often clashed with Oscar Awards in Hollywood, this year is no difference. Good that South Asia has a different time zone with California in the United States so we're able to watch both ceremonies. 😂

Japan's Perfect Days also got nominated at this year's Oscar Awards in the Best Foreign Film category, but the winner went to the United Kingdom entry, "The Zone of Interest ".

Although the winners were evenly distributed to films from different Asian countries, Japan took home many awards, winning six including the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. Followed by China with five.

I was touched when Tergel from Mongolia, whose film industry is largely unknown in Asia, won the Best Newcomer award defeating Wang Yibo for Hidden Blade, Yoyo Tse for Fly Me to the Moon, and the rest.

It's a testament that Mongolia also has great talents in films. Because it was unexpected as most of his co-nominees came from popular film industries in Asia, he got emotional in his speech and shed tears.

Here is the full List of Nominees, Winners, and Special Awardees at the 17th Asian Film Awards:

I. Special Awardees:

1. Highest-Grossing Asian Film in 2023:

Full River Red (China) starring Shen Teng and Jackson Yee, and Directed by Zhang Yimou

2. Lifetime Achievement Award:

Zhang Yimou, director (China). See details of the achievement

3. Excellence in Asian Cinema:

Suzuki Ryohei, actor (Japan)
Lee Young-ae. actress (South Korea)

4. Next Generation Award:

Zhao Liying, actress (China)

5. Asian Rising Star Award:

Win Metawin, actor (Thailand)

II. Competition Category:

Best Film:

1. 12.12: The Day (South Korea)

2. Evil Does Not Exist (Japan) - winner

3. Paradise (Sri Lanka/India)

4. Perfect Days (Japan)

5. Snow Leopard (China)

Best Director:

1. Gu Xiaogang for Dwelling by the West Lake (China)

2. Hirokazu Kore-eda for Monster (Japan) - winner

3. Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)

4. Kim Sung-su for12.12: The Day (South Korea)

5. Prasanna Vithanage for Paradise (Sri Lanka/India)

Best New Director:

1. Nick Cheuk for Time Still Turns the Pages (Hongkong) - winner

2. Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir for City of Wind (Mongolia)

3. Amanda Nell Eu for Tiger Stripes (Malaysia)

4. Phạm Thiên Ân for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Vietnam)

5. Dominic Sangma for Rapture (India)

Best Actor:

1. Hwang Jung-min for 12.12: The Day (South Korea)

2. Tony Leung Chiu-wai for The Goldfinger (Hong Kong)

3. Shen Teng for Full River Red (China)

4. Wu Kang-ren for Abang Adik (Malaysia)

5. Koji Yakusho for Perfect Days (Japan) - winner

Best Actress:

1. Jiang Qingqin - Dwelling by the West Lake (China) - winner

2. Jung Yu-mi - Sleep (South Korea)

3. Rinko Kikuchi - 658km Yoko (Japan)

4. Audrey Lin - Trouble Girl (Hong Kong)

5. Zhou Dongyu - The Breaking Ice (China)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Nakamura Shido II - Kubi (Japan)

2. Park Hoon - 12.12: The Day (South Korea) - winner

3. Park Jeong-min - Smugglers (South Korea)

4. Jack Tan - Abang Adik (Malaysia)

5. Sean Wong - Time Still Turns the Pages (Hong Kong)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Go Min-si - Smugglers (South Korea)

2. Minami Hamabe - Godzilla Minus One (Japan)

3. Rachel Leung - In Broad Daylight (Hong Kong) - winner

4. Mariko Tsutsui - Last Shadow at First Light (Japan)

5. Wanfang - Snow in Midsummer (Hong Kong)

Best Newcomer

1. Tergel Bold Erdene - City of Wind (Mongolia) - winner

2. Awat Ratanapintha - Doi Boy (Thailand)

3. Mihaya Shirata - Last Shadow at First Light (Japan)

4. Wang Yibo - Hidden Blade (China)

5. Yoyo Tse - Fly Me to the Moon (Hong Kong)

Best Screenplay:

1. Evil Does Not Exist - Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

2. Monster - Yuji Sakamoto (Japan)

3. Paradise - Prasanna Vithanage and Anushka Senanayake

4. Sleep - Jason Yu (South Korea)

5. Snow Leopard - Pema Tseden (China) - winner

Best Editing

1. 12.12: The Day - Kim Sang-bum (South Korea) - winner

2. Evil Does Not Exist - Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Azusa Yamazaki (Japan)

3. Only the River Flows - Matthieu Laclau (China)

4. Paradise - A Sreekar Prasad (Sri Lanka/India)

5. Time Still Turns the Pages - Nick Cheuk and keith Hiu Chun Chan (Hong Kong)

Best Cinematography

1. 12.12: The Day - Lee Mo-gae (South Korea)

2. Evil Does Not Exist - Yoshio Kitagawa (Japan)

3. Only the River Flows - Zhiyuan Chengma (China)

4. Qas - Azamat Dulatov (Kazakhstan)

5. Snow Leopard - Matthias Delvaux (China) - winner

Best Original Music

1. Dwelling by the West Lake - Shigeru Umabayashi (China)

2. Evil Doest Not Exist - Eiko Ishibashi (Japan) - winner

3. Qas - Akmaral Zykayleva (Kazakhstan)

4. Rapture - Anon Ch Momin (India)

5. Road to Boston - Lee Dong-june (South Korea)

Best Costume Design

1. Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms – Tim Yip (China)

2. The Goldfinger – Man Lim-chung (Hong Kong/China) - winner

3. Kubi – Kazuko Kurosawa (Japan)

4. Smugglers – Yoon Jung-hee (South Korea)

5. Snow in Midsummer – Elaine Ng (Malaysia/Taiwan/Singapore)

Best Production Design

1. Concrete Utopia – Cho Hwa-sung (South Korea)

2. The Goldfinger – Eric Lam (Hong Kong/China) - winner

3. Monster – Keiko Mitsumatsu (Japan)

4. Only the River Flows – Menglun Zhang (China)

5. Snow Leopard – Daktse Drundrup (China)

Best Visual Effects

1. Concrete Utopia – Eun Jae-hyun (South Korea)

2. Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms – Douglas Hans Smith, Joshua Bryer, and Jeremy Ball (China)

3. Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima (Japan) - winner

4. The Moon – Jin Jong-hyun (South Korea))

5. The Wandering Earth 2 – Allen Wei, Ahdee Chiu, Ding Yanlai, and Eric Xu (China)

Best Sound

1. Concrete Utopia – Kim Suk-won and Kim Eun-jung (South Korea)

2. Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms – Yang Jiang and Zhao Nan (China)

3. Godzilla Minus One – Natsuko Inoue (Japan) - winner

4. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell – Vuong Gia Bao and Toh Wander (Vietnam/Singapore)

5. Snow in Midsummer – Tu Duu-chih and Wu Shu-yao (Malaysia/Taiwan/Singapore)

Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director

Awardees per region/country:

Japan - 6
China - 5
Hong Kong - 4
South Korea - 3
Mongolia - 1
Thailand - 1

Congratulations to all the winners! Looking forward to more of your great works in Asian cinema! See the photos below, including the fabulous fashion of the attendees.

Zhao Liying (China) receives her New Generation Award

Jiang Qinqin wins Best Actress for Dwelling by the West Lake

Celebrity Fashion during the event:

Asian stars graced the event wearing their stunning gowns and suits. The venue looked quite small for the red-carpet appearance of the stars.

We've seen several glamorous celebrities from around the Asian region and noticed that most celebrities from Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand spoke well in English.

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung and Thai rising star Win Metawin

Thai heartthrobs, Mario Maurer and Win Metawin

Win Metawin took home the Rising Star Award

Mongolian actor, Tergel Bold-Erdene, wins Best Newcomer Award

South Korean actress, Lee Young-ae, Excellence in Asian Cinema awardee

Japanese actor, Suzuki Ryohei wins Excellence in Asian Cinema

South Korean actor, PARK Hoon wins Best Supporting Actor

Lee Young-ae

Fan Bingbing

Fan Bingbing, who presented the Best Actor award, wore an elaborate white silk dress designed by French couturer, Stephane Rolland. She accessorized the dress with large strands of white pearls.

Although I struggled to understand Bingbing's gown, she looked so glamorous and classy, as always. Hope she could make movies again.

Zhao Liying wore a stunning Elie Saab creation, a gold sequin dress with an off-the-shoulder design. She looked so gorgeous in this design and fabric as it glimmered under the bright light.

Zhao Liying

We also love the peach tulle dress with embellishment worn by South Korean actress and Excellence in Asian Cinema awardee, Lee Young-ae. She looked drop-dead gorgeous in this design and prettier than ever.

We also love the black dress of Jiang Qinqin. The body-hugging design complimented her slender physique and a classy vibe. She accessorized it with crystal necklace and earrings.