[2024.12.03] MICHELLE WAI WINS AT ASIA PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL

Michelle Wai could not help but get choked up during her thank you speech

Raymond Wong and Sammo Hung receive the Asia-Pacific Outstanding Filmmaker and Lifetime Achievement Award respectively
courtesy of on.cc

Michelle Wai's acting has gradually matured in recent years and caught attention, finally winning Best Actress with THE LAST DANCE
courtesy of singtao.com

Michelle Wai gets misty eyed she wins her first Best Actress prize at the Asia Pacific Film Festival

THE LAST DANCE sweeps up four awards. Michelle Wai and director Anselm Chan show them off

THE LAST DANCE passed the HK$ 112 million mark yesterday morning
courtesy of on.cc

TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN falls to third after THE LAST DANCE overtakes it

Honorary awar recipient Raymond Wong says that he has not reached age 80 yet, so he still has room for improvement
courtesy of mingpao.com

The night before the "61st Asia-Pacific Film Festival" was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (December 1), martial arts superstar Sammo Hung Kam Bo was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award". Hung Kam Bo advised future generations to bravely chase their dreams and never say quit easily; Raymond Wong Pak Ming was awarded the Asia-Pacific Outstanding Filmmaker Award in recognition of his lifelong dedication to film. Wong Pak Ming modestly said that he still needed to work hard. THE LAST DANCE defeated a number of Asian films to stand out and win four awards, Michelle Wai Sze Nga did not disappoint and won the "Best Actress". After the victory, she got choked up and thanked director Anselm Chan Mou Yin for his appreciation, and sincerely wished that the film could go even further; Chan was overjoyed to win the "Best Director" award.

Toiling in the Hong Kong film industry for over 60 years, Sammo Hung received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the promotion and leadership of Hong Kong martial arts films. "Cinema is a wonderful profession, you can work day and night, you can shoot summer scenes in winter, shoot winter scenes in summer, shoot half a day or even longer for a shot; this kind of perseverance and dedication fascinates me. From when I started making movie, I have loved it fully every single day so I have never felt roughed up. Instead I have been enjoying it. I feel very relieved and grateful for this award, because I feel that I am a very lucky person who can make my dream a lifelong career. Although this is not the golden age of movies, I hope that the future generations who love movies must persevere, do not give up easily, and I wish everyone their dreams would come true!"

Commenting on the award, Wong Pak Ming modestly said on stage, "For me, this award is an encouragement to me for struggling in the film industry for more than 40 years. In the 80s of the last century, there was HAPPY GHOST (HOI SUN GWAI), in the 90s of the last century, there was ALL'S WELL ENDS WELL (GA YAU HEI SI), and after 2000, there was the IP MAN series. My movie report card is average, for me I can answer to myself." He became popular because of his cover of PILLOW TALK a while ago and joked on stage, "Let's not be nostalgic for the past, we have to look forward to the future. So I don't sing UNDER THE LION ROCK recently, I sing PILLOW TALK." Drawing laughter from the audience, he continued, "In this ever-changing world where technology is ever-changing, we should make use of technology in making films. I believe that our films will be even better in the future. People live and learn even in old age, and Duke Tai Jiang met King Wen at the age of 80 before he made great achievements. Yours truly is not yet 80 years old and still has room for improvement, so I still need to work hard."

As of 8 a.m. yesterday, THE LAST DANCE's box office has reached HK$112 million, ranking second among the highest-grossing Chinese-language films in Hong Kong's history and becoming the highest-grossing Hong Kong-made film in Hong Kong this year. In addition to the strong box office performance in Hong Kong, many overseas regions have also reported successes; including becoming the third highest-grossing Hong Kong film in the history of the UK and Ireland.

The night before, directors Chan Mou Yin and Wai Sze Nga flew to Malaysia on behalf of the team to attend the gala event. They even won four awards at the awards ceremony, including director Chan Mou Yin for the "Best Director"; William Chang Suk Ping and Curran Pang Ching Hei for "Best Editing"; Yman Yiu Hon Man for Best Art Direction.

The most competitive award was the "Best Actress", as Wai Sze Nga and HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES' grandmother Usha Seamkhum were among the top five at the same time. Finally Wai Sze Nga lived up to the expectations to win the "Best Actress" and got choked up on the stage as she thanked director Chan Mou Yin. "This award means a lot to me, it represents a report card for my 16 years of never giving up my dreams. I hope through this award to let more people know that Wai Sze Nga is an actor. Thank you Director (Chan Mou Yin) for not giving up on me when I was going to give up on myself. Thank you to everyone who loves THE LAST DANCE, and thank you to Hong Kong movies!" Director Chan Mou Yin was overjoyed to win the award, pointing out that THE LAST DANCE has been a wonderful journey since the start of filming as Tze Wah god has said, sincerely thanked audiences around the world for their support and encouragement, and sincerely wished the film to be able to go even further. The director and Wai Sze Nga also personally congratulated the martial arts superstar Sammo Hung Kam Bo who won the Lifetime Achievement Award and took a photo. At noon yesterday, the Malaysian distributor quickly held a celebration party for the team of THE LAST DANCE, opened more champagne to celebrate the team's award and announced that the Malaysian box office has exceeded RM10 million.