Sammi Cheng wins Best Actress and Sean Lau wins Best Actor

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The stars were out on the red carpet at the Hong Kong Culture Centre on April 16th to celebrate the victorious year of Hong Kong Films and films in Asia that we just witnessed. In Canada and North America, there has been a noticeable surge in interest in Asian films which have placed them into official theatre box offices across the country. Throughout the last two decades, there have been films playing now and then at select theatres such as Cineplex, but it was a sparse trend and sometimes films were only shown at a specific single location such as in Markham, where there is a large Asian population. Today, when you step foot into SilverCity in Richmond Hill or the Cineplex VIP Theatres in Downtown Markham, the scene has definitely changed. Just this past weekend at the Markham theatre, there were 6-7 large posters on display of foreign films from Hong Kong and China lined up near the ticket booth, and a large backdrop from a recently launched comedy. The demand that keeps increasing with growing immigration and existing diaspora populations has helped to bridge and strengthen the connection between foreign films in Asia with North America. This is a stark comparison to the former and more desperate days when fans who wanted to watch would either have to travel to Asia, wait to see if the film would play in a theatre, or settle for pirated copies on dvd’s to watch a film from Hong Kong often found in a corner at a local shopping mall. 

Many factors impact this flow of creative work imported into Canada of course, including distribution channels, the collaboration of local theatre chains and distributors, the geography of theatres in areas of diaspora populations, fans who willingly pay to support a film, and the quality of films being made that create the demand, just to name a few. The time is certainly here as the pent-up demand for quality entertainment and the quality of the entertainment have seemed to align swimmingly this past year and continues to show a winning streak with recent releases. 

That is also why this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards has an extraordinary momentum and diverse faces on the red carpet — it was a year of spectacular writing, acting, performances, music and every aspect of film that moved forward and evolved after years of popular criticism of the industry in the tiny island that is an entertainment mecca. You may recognize the films which received glowing reviews and numerous nominations, and most importantly show such a rich diversity of genres: 

Based on a true murder story, courtroom Thriller The Sparring Partner 正義迴廊 received 16 nominations (the most for any film). Crime thriller Detective vs Sleuths 神探大戰, Sci-fi action film Warriors of Future 明日戰記, and comedy Table for Six 飯戲攻心 tied with 11 nominations each — all which did well in North American box offices as well, and surely you would have seen their posters if you went to the theatre. Drama The Narrow Road 窄路微塵 received 10 nominations and romanticized crime thrilled Where the Wind Blows 風再起時 received 8. These were the most talked about films of the year, and others with critical acclaim also were nominated in several categories: Mama’s Affair 阿媽有咗第二個, The Sunny Side of the Street 白日青春, To my Nineteen Year Old Self 給十九歲的我, Lost Love 流水落花 , The Battle at Lake Changin II 長津湖之水門橋, and the Light Never Goes Out燈火闌珊.

Notable wins include Sammi Cheng, who won for Best Actress for Lost Love 流水落花, in which she portrays a grieving mother who loses her three year old to congenital heart disease. Still yearning for the feeling of being a mother, she and her husband decide to become foster parents, and the children they adopt come with problems and her over-focus on them causes the husband to feel lonely, so he seeks another woman’s attention. The foster children step-in and inspire the couple to heal their relationship. Cheng has been nominated 7 other times in the past for acting, and this is her first time winning Best Actress. 

Warriors of Future 明日戰記 was a massive investment on the part of veteran actor and producer Louis Koo, and known as an ambitious project to promote and support the Hong Kong Film industry with a breakthrough genre and production. Many fans around the world supported the film regardless of interest in plot or genre, as a gesture of support to Koo who is an industry leader. It took home the awards for Best Action Choreography, Best Sound Design and Best Visual Effects.

To my Nineteen Year Old Self 給十九歲的我, a documentary film was awarded Best Film despite it massive controversy. Created under the leadership of veteran filmmaker Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, the film was pulled from theatres earlier in the year but still managed to take the biggest award for the night. 

Detectives VS Sleuths 神探大戰 surprised the audience and took home 4 out of the 11 awards it was nominated for, including the major awards: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Sean Lau Ching-Wan) and Best cinematography.
Michelle Yeoh, freshly awarded Best Actress at the Oscars earlier this month, was on stage to present the Best New Performer Award to 10-year-old Sahal Zaman, for his role in Sunny Side of the Street 白日青春, where he acted alongside veteran Anthony Wong. In a full circle moment, Yeoh, who established her career first in Hong Kong was awarded the same recognition in 1986 with her unforgettable role in “Yes, Madam.” Zaman also beat out fan favourite Edan Lui who is a part of the hottest boy band in Hong Kong, Mirror. 

See the complete winner list below:

最佳電影 Best Film

給十九歳的我 To My Nineteen-year-old Self

最佳導演 Best Director:

韋家輝 Wai Ka Fai | 神探大戰 Detective Vs. Sleuths

最佳編劇 Best Screenplay:

韋家輝 Wai Ka Fai, 陳偉斌 Ryker Chan, 麥天樞mak Tin Shu |神探大戰 Detective VS. Sleuths

最佳男主角 Best Actor

劉青雲 Sean Lau | 神探大戰 Detective VS. Sleuths

最佳女主角 Best Actress

鄭秀文 Sammi Cheng | 流水落花 Lost Love

最佳男配角 Best Supporting Actor

許冠文 Michael Hui | 風再起時 Where the Wind Blows

最佳女配角 Best Supporting Actress

王菀之 Ivana Wong | 飯戲攻心 Table for Six

最佳新演員 Best New Performer

林諾 Sahal Zaman | 白日青春 The Sunny Side of The Street

最佳攝影 Best Cinematography

鄭兆強 Cheng Siu Keung | 神探大戰 Detective VS. Sleuths

最佳剪接 Best Film Editing

李謙明 J.Him Lee, 張釗zhang Zhao, 石繕滎 Jojo Shek | 正義迴廊 The Sparring Partner

最佳美術指導 Best Art Direction

雷楚雄 Bill Lui，黃敏軒 Andrew Wong | 風再起時 Where the Wind Blows

最佳服裝造型設計 Best Costume & Makeup Design

吳里璐 Dora Ng，郭淑敏 Petra Kwok | 風再起時 Where the Wind Blows

最佳動作設計 Best Action Choreography

黃偉亮 Jack Wong Wai Leung | 明日戰記 Warriors of Future

最佳原創電影音樂 Best Original Film Score

黃衍仁 Wong Hin Yan | 窄路微塵 The Narrow Road

最佳原創電影歌曲 Best Original Film Song

我這樣活了一天 Live A Life | 流水落花 Lost Love

作曲：永夏 Composer：Hans Wing
填詞：林若寧 Lyricist：Lin Ruo Ning
主唱：鄭秀文 Vocal Artist：Sammi Cheng

最佳音響效果 Best Sound Design

Nopawat Likitwong, 游國樑 Stan Yau, Sarunyu Nurnsai, Dhanarat Dhitirojana | 明日戰記 Warriors of Future

最佳視覺效果 Best Visual Effects

鄒志盛chas Chau Chi Shing，梁偉傑 Leung Wai Kit，郭泰kwok Tai，羅慧媚 Law May

明日戰記 Warriors of Future

新晉導演 Best New Director

何爵天 Ho Cheuk Tin | 正義迴廊 The Sparring Partner

最佳亞洲華語電影 Best Asian Chinese Language Film

海的盡頭是草原 In Search Of Lost Time

終身成就獎 Lifetime Achievement Award

胡楓先生 Bowie Woo

專業精神獎 Professional Achievement Award

羅卡先生Law Kar & 石琪先生Sek Kei

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