Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s pre-ceremony favorite ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ prevailed at the Asian Film Awards, which were otherwise evenly spread.
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards.
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang, Andrew Lau, Mabel Cheung.
Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing made an unannounced appearance on stage to present the best actor award — which she correctly described as the most competitive — to Yakusho Koji, who won the same award in Cannes last year for the Wim Wenders-directed “Perfect Days.”
The AFAs kicked off a month of frantic film activity in Hong Kong. They preceded Hong Kong FilMart, the biggest film rights market in Asia, and the HAF film project market. At the end of the month Hong Kong International Film Festival will swing into action.
Best Film
“12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
WINNER: “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
“Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
“Perfect Days” (Japan)
“Snow Leopard” (China)
Best Director
KIM Sung-soo for “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
GU Xiaogang for “Dwelling by the West Lake” (China)
HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
WINNER: KORE-EDA Hirokazu for “Monster” (Japan)
Prasanna VITHANAGE for “Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
Best New Director
Khagvadulam PUREV-OCHIR for “City of Wind” (France, Mongolia, Portugal, Netherlands, Qatar, Germany)
PHAM THIEN An for “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” (Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain)
Dominic SANGMA for “Rapture” (India, China, Switzerland, Qatar, Netherlands)
Amanda Nell EU for “Tiger Stripes” (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar)
WINNER: Nick CHEUK for “Time Still Turns the Pages” (Hong Kong)
Best Actor
HWANG Jung-min in “12.
