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Asian Film Awards
Asian Film Awards
Current: 17th Asian Film Awards
Awarded for	Excellence in cinematic achievements
Location	Hong Kong; Busan, South Korea;
Country	Asia
Presented by	Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (2007–2012); Asian Film Awards Academy (2013–present)
First awarded	2007
Last awarded	2024
Website	www.afa-academy.com

The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy to recognise the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.

History

The former Asian Film Awards trophy designed by William Chang used in the 3rd Asian Film Awards in 2009.

On January 29, 2007, Wilfred Wong, the Chairman of Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, announced the launch of the Asian Film Awards (AFA).^[1] The 1st Asian Film Awards occurred on March 20, 2007, on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It honoured the best film achievements of the Asian cinema in the year 2006. It was attended by about 4000 guests from around the world.^[2]

The AFA Presentation Ceremony takes place as part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong Opening Gala. Eminent filmmakers and superstars from around the world are invited to bestow awards upon the winner(s) of each category, making the ceremony a dazzling extravaganza as well as an influential cultural event.^[3]

Throughout its history and since its inauguration in 2007, Chinese-language films and professionals from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have dominated the awards.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

The trophy

On February 13, 2007, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council hosted a celebration of Park Chan-wook's I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK announcement of being the opening film for the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival at a reception in Berlin. At the same event the AFA trophy, designed by award-winning production designer, William Chang, was also unveiled.^[8]

According to William Chang, his inspiration behind the artwork was his admiration to a combination of architectural drawings and his own collection of antique statues. Measuring 36 cm (14 in), the trophy symbolises the joy and the accomplishment of all the award winners.^[9]

The current trophy is gold as a whole but had changed significantly before. The first trophies that were handed in 2007 has its trophy in black with a white base. In the 2nd AFA, the current gold colour was used as whole but in 2009 for its 3rd AFA instead of a gold base, it has a black base. Then in 2010, the whole gold trophy had returned and now used nowadays.

Eligibility, nominations and voting

To be eligible, films must be feature length (more than 60 minutes); be in 35mm or 70mm film format or digital format suitable for exhibition in cinemas; and be fiction films from Asia. This encompasses all the cinemas of Asia: East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia. Additionally, the films must have English subtitles.

The films must have been released between January 1 and December 31 of the year preceding the awards ceremony, and have been exhibited through a domestic theatrical release and distribution to at least one other country; been premiered at an international film festival; or received national film awards.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society compile the preliminary nomination list with the participation of the two parties who can submit films for the consideration to be included in the nomination list which are:

the Asian Film Awards Official Submission Organisations are composed of recognised film organizations from different Asian territories. Each Official Submission Organisation can submit up to three films to represent their territory.
the Asian Film Awards Jury is composed of film professionals from around the world. Each Jury Member can recommend up to two additional nominations in each Category.

After the Society finalised the nomination list, the Jury and the Voting Members (composed of previous winners from past AFA) would then vote in an Online Balloting System where it would be counted, tallied and kept confidential until the day of the AFA by a reputable firm of certified public accountants.

Special awards

These special awards are not always presented on a consistent annual basis. The Society chooses the special awards to be given for a certain year.

Asian Film Award for Excellence in Scholarship in Asian Cinema
Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema ^*
Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia Award ^*
Lifetime Achievement Award: since 2008
The Edward Yang New Talent Award: since 2008
The Asian Film Award for Top-Grossing Film Director: since 2009
The Asian Film Award for Top-Grossing Asian Film: since 2011
Award for the Promotion of Asian Cinema: since 2011
Excellence in Asian Cinema Award: since 2013
The Next Generation Award: since 2016

People's Choice awards

People's Choice for the Best Asian Film: 2009 (defunct)
People's Choice for Best Actor ^*: since 2010
People's Choice for Best Actress ^*: since 2010

^* The asterisk indicates the awards that were renamed for a certain Asian Film Awards Presentation Ceremony. Their first and original names are used in this list.

Major award winners

Year	Best Film	Best Director	Best Actor	Best Actress	Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress	Best New Director
2007 1st	The Host	Jia Zhangke for Still Life	Song Kang-ho for The Host	Miki Nakatani for Memories of Matsuko	No award	No award	No award
2008 2nd	Secret Sunshine	Lee Chang-dong for Secret Sunshine	Tony Leung for Lust, Caution	Jeon Do-yeon for Secret Sunshine	Sun Honglei for Mongol	Joan Chen for The Sun Also Rises
2009 3rd	Tokyo Sonata	Hirokazu Kore-eda for Still Walking	Masahiro Motoki for Departures	Zhou Xun for The Equation of Love and Death	Jung Woo-sung for The Good, the Bad, the Weird	Gina Pareño for Service
2010 4th	Mother	Lu Chuan for City of Life and Death	Wang Xueqi for Bodyguards and Assassins	Kim Hye-ja for Mother	Nicholas Tse for Bodyguards and Assassins	Kara Hui for At the End of Daybreak
2011 5th	Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives	Lee Chang-dong for Poetry	Ha Jung-woo for The Yellow Sea	Xu Fan for Aftershock	Sammo Hung for Ip Man 2	Youn Yuh-jung for The Housemaid
2012 6th	A Separation	Asghar Farhadi for A Separation	Donny Damara for Lovely Man	Deanie Ip for A Simple Life	Lawrence Ko for Jump Ashin!	Shamaine Buencamino for Niño
2013 7th	Mystery	Takeshi Kitano for Outrage Beyond	Eddie Garcia for Bwakaw	Nora Aunor for Thy Womb	Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Talaash: The Answer Lies Within	Makiko Watanabe for Capturing Dad
2014 8th	The Grandmaster	Wong Kar-wai for The Grandmaster	Irrfan Khan for The Lunchbox	Zhang Ziyi for The Grandmaster	Huang Bo No Man's Land	Yeo Yann Yann for Ilo Ilo
2015 9th	Blind Massage	Ann Hui for The Golden Era	Liao Fan for Black Coal, Thin Ice	Bae Doona for A Girl at My Door	Wang Zhiwen The Golden Era	Ikewaki Chizuru for The Light Shines Only There
2016 10th	The Assassin	Hou Hsiao-hsien for The Assassin	Lee Byung-hun for Inside Men	Shu Qi for The Assassin	Asano Tadanobu forJourney to the Shore	Zhou Yun for The Assassin
2017 11th	I Am Not Madame Bovary	Na Hong-jin for The Wailing	Asano Tadanobu for Harmonium	Fan Bingbing for I Am Not Madame Bovary	Lam Suet for Trivisa	Moon So-ri for The Handmaiden
2018 12th	Youth	Yuya Ishii for The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue	Louis Koo for Paradox	Sylvia Chang for Love Education	Yang Ik-june for Wilderness	Zhang Yuqi for Legend of the Demon Cat	Dong Yue for The Looming Storm
2019 13th	Shoplifters	Lee Chang-dong for Burning	Kōji Yakusho for The Blood of Wolves	Samal Yeslyamova for Ayka	Zhang Yu for Dying to Survive	Kara Hui for Tracey	Oliver Siu Kuen Chan for Still Human
2020 14th	Parasite	Wang Xiaoshuai for So Long, My Son	Lee Byung-hun for The Man Standing Next	Zhou Dongyu for Better Days	Ryo Kase for To the Ends of the Earth	Ko Shu-chin for A Sun	Hikari for 37 Seconds
2021 15th	Wife of a Spy	Zhang Yimou for One Second	Yoo Ah-in for Voice of Silence	Yū Aoi for Wife of a Spy	Kim Hyun-bin for The Silent Forest	Aju Makita for True Mothers	Hong Eui-jeong for Voice of Silence
2022 16th	Drive My Car	Hirokazu Kore-eda for Broker	Tony Leung Chiu-wai for Where the Wind Blows	Tang Wei for Decision to Leave	Hio Miyazawa for Egoist	Kim So-jin for Emergency Declaration	Jigme Trinley for One and Four
2023 17th	Evil Does Not Exist	Hirokazu Kore-eda for Monster	Koji Yakusho for Perfect Days	Jiang Qinqin for Dwelling by the West Lake	Park Hoon for 12.12: The Day	Rachel Leung for In Broad Daylight	Nick Cheuk for Time Still Turns the Pages

Presentation ceremonies

2021: The 15th edition of the awards presentation hosted by actress Kim Gyu-ri and broadcaster Lee Seung-guk was held on October 8, 2021 in Busan at Haeundae. 36 films from 8 Asian regions competed for 16 awards.^[10] Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy (2020) won the best picture award at the ceremony streamed live on YouTube and Naver.^[11]
2023: The 16th edition of the awards presentation hosted by Hong Kong-born Canadian actress Grace Chan and actor Sammy Leung was held on March 12, 2023 at Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium in Hong Kong Palace Museum. 30 films from 22 regions and countries have been shortlisted for 81 nominations.^[12] Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi won the best film award and best direction was awarded to Hirokazu Kore-eda for Broker, whereas Tang Wei's performance in Decision to Leave got her the best actress award. Tony Leung Chiu-wai, a Hong Kong actor and singer, was presented with Asian Film Contribution Award for his contribution to the Asian cinema and the best actor award for his performance in Where the Wind Blows.^[13]

References

^ "33 FILMS COMPETE FOR 1st ASIAN FILM AWARDS". Asian Film Awards. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
^ "'THE HOST' TAKES TOP HONORS AT ASIAN FILM AWARDS" (PDF). Asian Film Awards. 20 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
^ "Introduction- Asian Film Awards". Asian Film Awards. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
^ "Nominees & Winners". Asian Film Awards. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "ASIAN FILM AWARDS DOMINATED BY CHINESE". Macau Daily Times. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "'Blind Massage' The Big Winner as China Dominates Asian Film Awards". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "'Madame Bovary' Takes Top Prize at Asian Film Awards". Variety. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "BERLINALE CONTENDER "I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK" TO OPEN 2007 HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL". Asian Film Awards. 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
^ "Trophy- Asian Film Awards". Asian Film Awards. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
^ Song Il-seop (8 October 2021). "[MD포토] 김규리-이승국, '저희가 사회 맡았어요'" [[MD Photo] Gyu-ri Kim and Seung-guk Lee, 'We hosted the show']. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Sabastian Nadilo (8 October 2021). "15th Asian Film Awards – Winners 2021". Asian Film Festivals. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
^ Kim Bo-young (6 January 2023). "'헤어질 결심', AFA 10개 부문 노미네이트…아이유 신인상 후보 [공식]" ['Decision to break up', nominated in 10 AFA categories... IU Rookie Award Candidate [Official]]. E-Daily Star (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^ "[16th AFA]'헤어질 결심' 3관왕 달성..양조위·탕웨이 남녀주연상(종합)" [[16th AFA] 'Decision to Break Up' achieved 3 crowns.]. Herald POP (in Korean). Naver. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.