[2025.03.17] SEAN LAU WINS BEST ACTOR AT THE 18TH ASIAN FILM AWARDS

Sean Lau wins his first Asian Film Award Best Actor

Tang Wei and Jang Dong-gun receive the Excellence in Asian Cinema awards

Indian actress Shahana Goswami wins Best Actress

Lin Minchen and sister Brandy Lim

Louis Cheung and Kay Tse holds hand

Austin Lin

Wu Kangren
courtesy of on.cc

Lin Minchen and sister Brandy Lim

Sean Lau wins Best Actor with PAPA, enjoying being called "PAPA" on and off screen
courtesy of singtao.com

Sean Lau cannot hide his joy from winning his first Asian Film Award Best Actor and says that he has confidence in Hong Kong films

Indian Actress Shahana Goswami with SANTOSH is excited to win her first Best Actress

Koji Yakusho receives the Lifetime Achievement Awards

Philip Ng (left) and Yu Shi (right) present the Best Editing award to TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN's Cheung Ka Fai (center)

Lee Kang-Sheng wins Best Supporting Actor with STRANGER EYES and dances with excitement back stage

Yang Guei-Mei wins Best Supporting Actress, saying that she loves acting and would never retire

Lin Minchen and Brandy Lim

Tang Wei is happy to receive the Excellence in Asian Cinema award

Cheryl Yang is the Best Newcomer guest presenter

Golden Horse Best Actor Wu Kangren wins the AFA Next Generation Award

Louis Cheung and Kay Tse
courtesy of mingpao.com

Masaki Okada, Lo Chun Yip, Austin Lin, Aokbab Chutimon and Dean Fujioka attend a warm up event at a shopping center before the award show

Thai star Win Metawin
courtesy of mingpao.com

Jang Dong-gun returns to Hong Kong after 10 years and is very happy to receive the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award

Jang Dong-gun (right) hopes to work with Nicholas Tse (left) and Cecilia Cheung (second right) again

Koki receives the Rising Asian Star award, which would give her more power to develop in film

Jang Dong-gun and Cecilia Cheung in the 2012 film

Eddie Peng jokes that because of his sloppy appearance at the audition he receives the opportunity of starring in BLACK DOG
courtesy of mingpao.com

The 18th Asian Film Awards Ceremony was held last night at the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with a total of 16 major awards and 5 special awards presented at the ceremony. Best Film went to the Indian film ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT. Daihachi Yoshida with TEKI COMETH won Best Director. Indian actress Shahana Goswami won Best Actress for the film SANTOSH, famous movie star Sean Lau Ching Wan won Best Actor for the Hong Kong film PAPA, and another high-profile Hong Kong film TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN (GAU LUNG SING JAI JI WAI SING) won two awards at this year's awards ceremony.

This year's awards ceremony was attended by entertainers from all over Asia, including jury president Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Koji Yakusho, Ann Hui On Wah, Ng See Yuen, Stanley Kwan Kam Peng, as well as directors Sunny Chan Wing Sun, Daiji Matsunaga, Nick Cheuk Yik Him and Lawrence Kan Kwan Chun. Also attending were new generation Japanese actress Yuumi Kawai, actor Sosuke Ikematsu, Malaysian actors Lin Minchen and Jack Tan, Thai popular actor Win Metawin, and the Chinese film industry also has mainland actor Yu Shi, Taiwanese actors Cheryl Yang, Jasper Liu, Ko Chia-yen, and Hong Kong movie stars Chung Suet Ying, Rachel Leung Yung Ting, Philip Ng Wan Lung, etc., and Hong Kong new actor MC Cheung Tin Fu also served as a guest presenter.

Lau Ching Wan won the Best Actor for the Hong Kong film PAPA. He said that he would like to thank director Philip Yung Tsz Kwong for his trust in him, as well as co-star Jo Koo (Kok ho Lam), his on screen daughter and the Best Newcomer nominee Dylan So Man To. He encouraged So Man To and said, "Although you didn't win the award, actually I have never been nominated for Best New Actor so you are already very good." Ching Wan finally said that he was still very confident in Hong Kong films, and hoped that the industry will continue to work together.

Ching Wan said in an interview that the actors he worked with in the film always called him PAPA when they saw him, and he was able to win the award because of these "family members". Ching Wan hoped that everyone will continue to support him and Hong Kong films. He thought that Hong Kong films had many different subjects, and there were many new directors appearing, so there would be no need to worry. He still had confidence in Hong Kong films. He joked, "I was only nervous when I knew there were cheers. I remember the first time I won the Hong Kong Film Awards I heard a lot of cheers, which made me nervous and moved. I hope the cheers are dedicated to Hong Kong films."

Shahana Goswami rose to the throne of the Best Actress with the movie SANTOSH, and pointed out that it was a great challenge for her to make the film. Because she did not want the audience to feel that she was acting, she had to act like she was not acting. Hence this award was a great affirmation for her, proving that her acting skills were not bad; she laughed and said that the mood of winning the award was very unreal, and she felt like an actress acting, because her mind was blank. She was very happy to attend the award ceremony and had a good feeling about Hong Kong.

The composer of the original soundtrack for the domestic animated film NE ZHA 2, Hong Kong musician Chu Wan Pin teamed up with Hong Kong artist Jonathan Wong Chee-Hynn to kick off the award ceremony with a wonderful instrumental performance, showcasing the infinite possibilities of Asian film music.

Chu Wan Pin won the Best Original Music Award for the movie THE LAST DANCE (POR. DEI YUK). He said in an interview that because he had to make an opening performance for the awards ceremony, he had to practice kung fu and play erhu, which he had never tried before. In addition he would inevitably be a little nervous when performing on stage, and then went on stage to accept the award; so when he was interviewed backstage, his body was still shaking. Speaking of the music of THE LAST DANCE, he said that the creative space was very broad. In order to match the plot many different types of music were used, including Taoist and traditional funeral music; the most challenging part was all the actors have superb acting skills, and each of them has good micro-expressions. Every time the actors change their expressions, the music was used to coordinate. He said that in the future, erhu and film music will develop in parallel, just as the two film scores of THE LAST DANCE and NE ZHA 2 both used erhu. The former took nearly 4 months to create, and NE ZHA 2 even took two years. He was glad to see that both films had excellent results.

Tang Wei gave her thank you speech in three languages when she received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, saying that she has come to Hong Kong with her family a few days before the award ceremony. As soon as she stepped out of the airport, she already smelled the familiar scent of Hong Kong and felt very relaxed. She also took the opportunity to look for food all over and revealed that her daughter loved to sit in the front row of the double decker bus. She introduced the scenery along the route to her daughter. Tang Wei thanked the event for presenting the award to her, directors, actors and staff who have worked with her. She was very happy to meet outstanding Asian filmmakers at the ceremony, and she also thanked her family for their continued support.

Tang Wei said in an interview that she was very happy to receive the award. She could sit with filmmakers from different places at the award ceremony, so the atmosphere was very special. She saw many nominated film clips on the spot, which let her know that she still has a lot of room for growth in film. What other roles would she want to challenge? "No matter what the role is, I want to be immersed in the role." She says. She also pointed out that Hong Kong has brought her a lot of memories. Every time she comes back, she would revisit her favorite places and foods. The self admitted foodie said that she likes to eat noodles, sweet soup, put chai ko, seafood, etc.

The red carpet session held before the awards ceremony was also star-studded. When Eddie Peng Yu-yan, Thai star Win, mainland actor Yu Shi, Japanese actor Masaki Okada, etc. appeared, screaming arose again and again. Tang Wei, Sammo Hung Kam Bo and his wife Joyce Godenzi (Go Lai Hung) appeared in the finale.

Away from Hong Kong film for a while, Tang Wei said frankly that she would look forward to making another. "If the director thinks that there is a role for me, it is equivalent to 70% success, because I really haven't made a Hong Kong movies in a very long time." When asked about the willingness of Tang Wei, an international movie star, to reduce her salary, she said, "Being an actor is very passive, I am waiting for good roles and teams. These are the most important, and the rest are secondary." As for whether she will make another Korean film, she said that she has no plans for the time being. Would her husband Kim Tae-yong, a Korean director, start another production? She sighed, "My husband is a little slow, and the last one was more than ten years (ago); but he has always worked slowly and delivered fine goods, and he likes to share his life for everyone to see."

"Malaysian Goddess" Lin Minchen dressed up sensually and walked the red carpet with her sister Brandy Lim and director Sunny Chan Wing Sun. Lin Minchen said that it is not the first time that the sisters have walked the red carpet together. As for whether her sister would enter the industry, it depends on whether there would be a chance. She joked that she could ask director Chan Wing Sun. Minchen said that the stylist designed her look, because it used light weight and reusable environmentally friendly materials she was very light on her feet. Did Minchen had to work out before hand? She said, "I don't have time, but I've always worked hard to stay fit. I had to eat breakfast early today (yesterday)." Speaking of reports that her rumored boyfriend Edan Lui Cheuk On suddenly returned to Hong Kong early to meet her during the filming of a variety show in South Korea a few days ago, did he could have breakfast with her? She joked, "We didn't eat together, he didn't ask me." (Edan blew off his teammates to return to Hong Kong early?) I don't know, he may have other things going on. I can't give any answer on behalf of anyone."

Lau Ching Wan and his son So Man To in PAPA competed for "Best Actor" and Best Newcomer respectively, and they walked the red carpet together. Ching Wan was in a relaxed mood, but So Man To bluntly said that he was nervous. Did Ching Wan help So Man To relieve the pressure? He did not think So Man To needed to relieve the stress. "Kids, let them think how they should think, nervous will be nervous, and happy will be happy." So Man To joked that he was able to digest Ching Wan's words.

As a guest presenter, MC Cheung Tin Fu attended the Asian Film Awards for the first time. He said that he saw many idols he has never seen before, and he approached them to "collect the stamps", including Lau Ching Wan. MC laughed and said, "I was afraid of disturbing people, because I had eye contact with Ching Wan when I passed by, so I came forward to say hello and took a photo."

The 18th Asian Film Awards
https://www.afa-academy.com/awards-en/

Best Film: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Best Director: Daihachi Yoshida (TEKI COMETH)
Best Actor: Sean Lau Cing Wan (PAPA)
Best Actress: Shahana Goswami (SANTOSH)
Best Supporting Actor: Lee Kang-sang (STRANGER EYES)
Best Supporting Actress: Yang Kuei-Mei (YEN AND AI-LEE)
Best Cinematography: Hong Kyeong-pyo (HARBIN)
Best New Director: Sandhya Suri (SANTOSH)
Best Newcomer: Hayato Kurihara (HAPPYEND)
Best Editing: Cheung Ka Fai (TWLIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN)
Best Original Music: Chu Wan Pin (THE LAST DANCE)
Best Screenplay: Mohammad Rasoulof (THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG)
Best Visual Effects: Kim Shin-chul, Daniel Son Seung-hyun (EXHUMA)
Best Costume Design: Choi Yoon-sun (EXHUMA)
Best Sound: Tu Duu-Chih, Tu Tse-Kang (STRANGER EYES)
Best Production Design: Kenneth Mak Kwok Keung, Ambrose Chau Sai Hung (TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN)
Excellence in Asian Cinema Award: Tang Wei, Jang Dong-gun
Lifetime Achievement Award: Koji Yakusho
AFA New Generation Award: Wu Kangren
Rising Star Award: Koki
Highest grossing Asian film of 2024: YOLO