No one film dominated the 3rd Asian Film Awards ceremony held on March 23 in Hong Kong, but perhaps it could be called the triumph of Japanese Cinema as its contingent took home the most major trophies. Kurosawa Kiyoshi's family drama Tokyo Sonata won Best Film and Best Screenwriter, while Kore-eda Hirokazu got Best Director for another family drama Still Walking. Best Actor went to Japanese actor Motoki Masahiro (Departures), who had recently been crowned at the prestigious Japan Academy Awards for his portrayal of a cellist-turned-mortician.

Winning Best Actress was China's top actress Zhou Xun for her turn as a cab driver tracking her missing boyfriend in The Equation of Love and Death. Korean western The Good, the Bad, the Weird's Jung Woo Sung emerged as Best Supporting Actor. Best Supporting Actress was Filipino actress Gina Pareno of Service. 26-year-old Yu Shaoqun was named Best Newcomer for his role as the young Mei Lanfang in Forever Enthralled. Also honored was another newcomer Wei Te Sheng, director of Taiwan blockbuster Cape No. 7, who accepted the Edward Yang New Talent Award in happy tears.

For the technical categories, five films shared the spoils. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea's Hisaishi Joe won Best Composer; The Chaser's Kim Sun Min won Best Editor; Tulpan's Jola Dylewska won Best Cinematographer; Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon's Daniel Lee won Best Production Designer; and Red Cliff's Craig Hayes won Best Visual Effects. A special prize for "Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema" was given to veteran filmmakers Tsui Hark and Shi Nansun's production company Film Workshop, which has produced many film classics in the last 25 years.

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China's first major music award ceremony of 2009, the 16th edition of the ERS Chinese Top Ten Awards ceremony was held in Shanghai Grand Stage on March 14. In the main categories, "Super Girl" Jane Zhang won Best Female Singer and one of the Top Ten Golden Songs with her hit number Heroes. Best Male Singer went to veteran singer Sun Nan, who performed the Sichuan Earthquake relief theme song Sheng Si Bu Li which was named the Best Public Interests Song. Shanghai native Anson Hu also took one of the Top Ten Golden Songs with his "Eiffel Tower", and he was the Mainland winner of the Chinese Top Five awards honoring the most distinguished singers from five Chinese-speaking regions. This year, the other four winners of this special award were Joey Yung for Hong Kong, Show Luo for Taiwan, JJ Lin for Singapore, and Gary Chaw for Malaysia. Yu Quan and Thin Man won Best Group and Best Band respectively.

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With winter drawing to an end, a new season of Japanese dramas will be arriving in April. Taking over Fuji TV's Mei-chan no Shitsuji timeslot is Atashinchi no Danshi, another comical drama about a poor but spirited girl who finds herself suddenly surrounded by wealth and handsome guys. Horikita Maki stars as a homeless young woman who marries into a wealthy family to clear her debts, thus becoming the mother to five grown sons played by Kaname Jun, Okada Yoshinori, Yamamoto Yusuke, Mukai Osamu, and Seto Koji.

Movie star Odagiri Joe returns to television for TBS's Boku no Imoto, playing a renowned surgeon who shares a strong bond with his less academically inclined younger sister portrayed by starlet Nagasawa Masami. Abe Hiroshi becomes a father who tries to repair relations with his daughter after ten years of incarceration in Fuji TV's Shiroi Haru. Takenouchi Yutaka and Amami Yuki solve crimes along with rising stars Toda Erika and Mizobata Junpei in the Fuji TV police drama BOSS. For more crime-solving genre staples, there's also TBS police drama Hancho starring Sasaki Kuranosuke, Matsuda Shota and Kashii Yu's TV Asahi detective comedy Meitantei no Okite, Fujiki Naohito's NTV detective comedy Ikemen Sobaya Tantei, and Koike Teppei's Shibatora drama special.

Arashi continues to take over the Japanese entertainment world with three dramas this season. Airing on March 29, drama special Door to Door starring Ninomiya Kazunari is the third and final chapter in TBS's series about young men achieving success despite debilitating illnesses. Ninomiya also starred in the previous installments, 2006's Sukoshi wa, Ongaeshi ga Dekitakana and 2007's Marathon. Matsumoto Jun portrays a Filipino-Japanese man who smiles through life's many challenges in the TBS drama Smile, which is penned by the screenwriter of Hana Yori Dango; Aragaki Yui co-stars as a young mute woman. NTV's 2008 late-night program The Quiz Show goes idol and primetime for its second season with Sakurai Sho in the leading role as a mysterious TV host. Co-starring Yokoyama You of Kanjani8 and Hello! Project idol Matsuura Aya, the drama is about a game show that promises big money to its contestants, who must answer increasingly probing questions about their pasts.

Other Johnny's dramas coming soon are the Fuji TV duo of Konkatsu! and Majo Saiban. SMAP's Nakai Masahiro plays a salaryman looking for marriage opposite Ueto Aya in Konkatsu!, which also co-stars Rookies' Sato Ryuta and KAT-TUN's Ueda Tatsuya in his drama debut. Inspired by Japan's decision to adopt a jury-trial court system in 2009, Majo Saiban revolves around the jurors of a murder case, with Ikuta Toma playing a freeter who gets called for jury duty. Drama specials for Domoto Tsuyoshi's 33pun Tantei and Gokusen 3 will also be aired in late March.

Text / Sanwei

An epic historical film on the founding of modern China is in the works to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Budgeted at 30 million yuan (US$4.4 million), the China Film Group production has assembled a strong cast and crew featuring some of the best talents of Chinese Cinema. Han Sanping, the producer and flagbearer of China Film Group, heads the crew with Huang Jianxin (Back to Back, Face to Face) as executive director and Wang Xingdong (The One Man Olympics) penning the script, which chronicles the contest for power between the Nationalists and the Communists between 1945 and 1949.

Portraying the historical figures in The Great Cause of China's Foundation (a.k.a. Jian Guo Da Ye) is a star-studded cast that has been the focus of media and public attention since the camera rolled in February. The two main roles of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai Shek go to Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli, respectively. Other pivotal roles include Aloys Chen Kun as Chiang Ching Kuo, Liu Jin as Zhou Enlai, Wang Wufu as Zhu De, Vivian Wu as Soong Mei Ling, Xu Qing as Soong Ching Ling, Wang Xueqi as Li Tsung Jen, and Shi Xin as Deng Xiaoping. It was reported that many top actors and filmmakers offered to play bit parts in this film, and now the confirmed star cameos include big-name directors Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, and Feng Xiaogang, plus popular actors Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Chen Hao, Eva Huang, Ge You, and Chen Daoming. Shot in Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai, the film is expected to screen in September.

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Released on March 11, the debut single Himawari ("Sunflower") of Kamiji Yusuke, popular Japanese actor and member of the trio Shuuchishin, holds an impressive record. In its first week on the Oricon charts, Kamiji's single, released under the name "Yusuke", took the No. 2 spot, following closely behind KAT-TUN's No. 1 hit Rescue. Himawari has thus far sold 219,000 copies, the highest first-week sales for a solo artist single since Utada Hikaru's Flavor of Life sold 271,000 copies in February 2007. It also the first single from a male solo artist to break the 200,000 benchmark in first-week sales since Domoto Koichi's debut single Deep in your heart/+Million but-Love, which sold 221,000 copies in July 2006.

The theme song for the singer's upcoming Fuji TV biopic drama Kamiji Yusuke Monogatari, Himawari also topped the first-week sales of Hamasaki Ayumi's most recent No. 1 hit Rule/Sparkle (95,000 copies), making it 2009's best-selling solo artist single in first-week sales.

Text / Snoopy

Japan's most iconic samurai takes his last bow in the upcoming Zatoichi: The Last, which is reportedly the final Zatoichi feature. SMAP's Katori Shingo, who last starred in 2007's Monkey Magic, steps into the hallowed shoes of the lethal swordsman in the Zatoichi swan song from Children of the Dark director Sakamoto Junji. In the film, Zatoichi has hung up his sword and retired to a quiet life with his wife, but gets pulled back into action. Shooting for Zatoichi: The Last began on March 15, and the film is expected to hit theaters in 2009.

Blind masseur and samurai Zatoichi was first made famous by late actor Katsu Shintaro in 26 films and a long-running television series that lasted from the 1960s to 1980s. The fictional samurai was later portrayed by Kitano Takeshi in his eponymous 2003 blockbuster and Aikawa Sho in a 2007 stage play directed by Miike Takashi. In 2008, the Zatoichi franchise was further reinvented with Sori Fumihiko's Ichi starring actress Ayase Haruka as the female version of Zatoichi. Producer Nakazawa Toshiaki has stated that Zatoichi: The Last will be the final production in the franchise.

Text / Sanwei

Many anticipated Korean films are being released this spring. Just April alone will see no less than seven Korean films hitting theaters including the latest feature from Old Boy director Park Chan Wook.

Opening on April 2, director Park Dae Min's greatly hyped period crime thriller Private Eye revolves around a serial murder case in early 20th-century Korea. Award-winning actor Hwang Jung Min (A Man Who Was Superman) plays a private detective chasing after the killer along with popular actress Uhm Ji Won (Epitaph) and up-and-coming actor Ryu Deok Hwan, last seen playing a serial murderer in Our Town.

Award-winning actress Kang Hye Jung (Welcome to Dongmakgol) takes another quirky turn in first-time director Hwang Soo Ah's Why Did You Come to My House, which opens April 9. Kang stars as an awkward woman who takes over the home of a suicidal man in order to spy on her crush, played by Seung Ri from popular group Big Bang in his film debut. The Divine Weapon's Jung Jae Young also attempts suicide in his new film Wandering Mr. Kim, the second feature from Like a Virgin director Lee Hae Joon which opens April 23. After failing to drown, Jung's character ends up living on a deserted island on Han River, and attracting the curiosity of an apartment recluse played by singer-actress Jeong Ryeo Won.

Teaming up again after their TV drama 90 Days, Time For Love, popular stars Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan ham and glam it up as special agents in the action comedy My Girlfriend is an Agent, which opens April 23. Fellow Korean Wave star Kim Rae Won and diva Uhm Jung Hwa face off for fine arts in Park Hee Kon's Insadong Scandal, a glossy mystery surrounding a Joseon Dynasty painting that opens April 30.

Also hitting theaters the last day of April is director Park Chan Wook's highly anticipated vampire film Thirst. Everyone's favorite actor Song Kang Ho plays a respected priest who turns into a vampire after a medical experiment gone wrong. His newfound thirst for blood and deadly attraction for his best friend's wife, played by Kim Ok Bin (Dasepo Naughty Girls), drives him down a road of lust and depravity.

Other Korean movies expected to release soon include Hong Sang Soo's You Don't Even Know starring Kim Tae Woo and Uhm Ji Won; With a Girl of Black Soil director Jeon Soo Il's With a Girl of Himalaya starring Choi Min Sik; Yang Ik June's acclaimed indie Breathless; The Host director Bong Joon Ho's Mother starring Kim Hae Suk and Won Bin in his first film in five years; and Sex is Zero director Yoon Je Kyun's all-star tsunami disaster movie Haeundae starring Sol Kyung Gu, Ha Ji Won, Park Joong Hoon, Uhm Jung Hwa, and Lee Min Ki.

Text / Sanwei

Japanese actor Ito Takahiro, the younger brother of Ito Atsushi from Train Man, committed suicide on March 8. Only 21 years of age, he was found dead in his car in a parking lot close to Lake Sagami, where the police also found letters addressed to his family. Takahiro is perhaps best known for his TV series roles Segawa Yuto in Nodame Cantabile and Mori Eita in Galileo. Prior to his death, Takahiro was reportedly preparing for his latest role in a TV series, and hoping to lose weight and quit smoking. In a statement following the death of his brother, Ito Atsushi expressed that he still could not cope with the fact that his brother was gone, and that he had high hopes for an upcoming collaboration originally scheduled for April.

Text / Snoopy

Super Band, the rock group formed by Taiwan music legends Jonathan Lee, Lo Ta Yu, Emil Chau, and A-yue Chang, held its first concert on March 7 in Taipei Arena. The four superstars announced their collaboration in July 2008. Teasing fans in January with a brief performance at the 2009 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the band has now officially started their highly anticipated concert tour. The first concert attracted fans of different generations, including celebrities like Lin Chi Ling, Sylvia Chang, Harlem Yu, David Tao, Mayday, Patty Hou, Tarcy Su, Barbie and Dee Hsu, Jacky Wu, Bobby Chen, Leehom Wang, Winnie Hsin, and Hu Gua, who were spotted among the audience.

With Jonathan on guitar, Emil on bass, Lo on keyboard, A-yue on drums, and all of them contributing vocals, the band began the show with the concert theme song "Village Folks". The four big shots also performed their new single "Desperados" and, together as well as individually, some of their most memorable classic hits, including Jonathan's "When the Love Has Gone", A-yue's "The First Taste of Love", Lo's "The Beautiful Island", and Emil's "Afraid of the Dark". After a splendid run of 30 songs and medleys, the band bowed out with a heated finale made up of "Friends", "Farewell", "True-Hearted Hero", and "Love Song 1980" to conclude the Taipei concert.

The tour will resume with its Hong Kong leg on March 28 and 29, and has booked dates in several cities in Mainland China in the subsequent months. The band is expected to release an album later this year, and be disbanded afterwards.

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Acclaimed Mainland Chinese director Jia Zhangke was honored with the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award at the 10th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival in Spain on March 9. The award was especially established this year to commemorate the festival's tenth anniversary, and benchmarks Jia's remarkable achievements in a decade of filmmaking.

A two-time Golden Lion winner, Jia Zhangke has been no stranger to international acclaim since his 1998 debut feature Xiao Wu, but the hailed abroad and ho-hummed at home auteur also got his first taste of domestic success this week. His 2008 film 24 City, which competed at Cannes last year and has sold distribution rights to over 30 countries, finally opened in China on March 6. A decades-spanning grassroots tale set in Chengdu, 24 City grossed over one million yuan (US$146,000) in just three days, putting it on track to be Jia's most commercially successful film at home. His previous World and Still Life grossed around 1.5 million yuan (US$219,000).

Jia also recently revealed in an interview with Esquire magazine that he was interested in directing an erotic film. After shooting Platform, the Sixth Generation director came up with the idea for a Shanxi-set erotic film titled Ta Xue Xun Mei whose story would be connected to the U.S. president! Jia abandoned the idea at the time at his producer's urging, but still plans to shoot the film in the future.

Text / Sanwei

Johnny's boy band Arashi's latest double A-sided single Believe/Kumori Nochi, Kaisei turned into the best-selling single of 2009 in only two days. Released on March 4, Believe/Kumori Nochi, Kaisei sold 520,000 copies in its initial week, making it the first single since KAT-TUN's March 2006 debut single Real Face to cross the 500,000 benchmark in the first week of sales. It is also Arashi's second single to sell more than 500,000 copies in the first week; their debut single A.RA.SHI reached first-week sales of 557,000 in autumn 1999.

The sales of Believe/Kumori Nochi, Kaisei easily passed that of female singer Akimoto Junko's ainomamade, which was previously the #1 single of the year with 351,000 copies sold. Believe is the theme song of the film Yatterman starring band member Sakurai Sho, while Kumori Nochi, Kaisei is the theme of the Asahi TV drama Uta no Onisan starring band leader Ohno Satoshi.

Text / Snoopy

Korean actress Jang Ja Yeon committed suicide on March 7 in the latest tragedy to hit the beleaguered cast of KBS youth drama Boys Over Flowers. The 26-year-old actress, whose death has sparked off great controversy in the media, was laid to rest on March 9. She played the supporting role of Sunny on Boys Over Flowers, part of the mean-girl trio that makes life miserable for protagonist Geum Jan Di.

Based on the best-selling Japanese comic Hana Yori Dango which also inspired hit television adaptations in Taiwan and Japan, Boys Over Flowers began broadcast on KBS on January 5. Since the start of production, the drama's cast have been struck with numerous accidents and injuries. All five main cast members - Lee Min Ho, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon, and Koo Hye Sun - have been involved in minor car accidents or set injuries. Most recently, leading actress Koo Hye Sun was hospitalized after a car accident on February 27, causing a delay in production.

Despite all the production setbacks, the Boys Over Flowers fervor that has swept Korea is as strong as ever. The drama's March 9th episode reached a series-high nationwide viewership rating of 35.5%, overtaking SBS daily drama Temptation of Wife for the first time for the #1 ratings spot. The drama's best-selling soundtrack, which has spawn multiple top ten hits, will also see a sequel in March with the release of a second soundtrack featuring T-max, SS501, Kara, A'ST1, and other popular artists.

Text / Sanwei

Two of Asia's top divas, Utada Hikaru and BoA, may soon be meeting on the Oricon and the Billboard charts because they're both dropping English albums in March. First up is Korean sensation BoA who is releasing her self-titled English debut album on March 17. The 22-year-old pop star released her first English single, the Henrik Jonback-produced dance track Eat You Up, in October last year. For her highly anticipated US debut album, she has recruited many hit-making hotshots on board including Brian Kennedy, Bloodshy & Avant, and Sean Garrett who wrote, produced, and features in BoA's second single I Did It For Love. Not to forget her fans back in Asia, she's also releasing on the same day her Japan compilation album BEST&USA which will include both her J-pop hits and U.S. debut album.

New York-born J-pop diva Utada Hikaru is venturing back to the U.S. with This Is The One, her second English album under the name "Utada", which hits shelves first in Japan on March 14 and then in the U.S. on May 12. Despite being one of the biggest names in world music and the record holder for Japan's all-time best-selling album, Utada Hikaru remains virtually unknown in America. Her last English album, 2004's Exodus, was a bestseller in Japan but failed to make any mainstream impact in the U.S., though two of its singles, Easy Breezy and Devil Inside, became club hits. For her second crossover attempt, the talented singer-songwriter wrote and composed all of the album's songs including single Come Back to Me, and teamed with powerhouse producers Stargate and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart.

BoA and Utada aren't the only Asian superstars trying to break into the U.S. market. Korean idol SE7EN, who has been preparing and promoting his American debut for over a year now, officially releases his first English digital single Girls on March 10. Produced by Darkchild and featuring Lil' Kim, Girls will be available for download on iTunes, and the music video will premiere online at MySpace Music.

Text / Sanwei

Taiwanese movie maestro Ang Lee has been appointed the president of the jury for the 66th Venice Film Festival, to be held from September 2 to 12 this year. The jury will decide who wins the Festival's top prize - the Golden Lion - and other awards. Last year, Hong Kong director Johnnie To was among the jury members, and the year before that, Mainland director Zhang Yimou headed the international jury. Lee himself has won the Golden Lion on two occasions: first with Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and then with Lust, Caution in 2007. A statement on the Film Festival's website calls him "one of the most successful directors in creating a dialogue between the film-making culture of the East and West".

Lee is currently finishing up his latest film Taking Woodstock, a comedy about the 1969 music festival. He is in talks to direct a big-screen adaptation of the acclaimed novel Life of Pi, and is also said to have offered to advise Cape No. 7 director Wei Te Sheng on editing his next film Seediq Bale.

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Released on February 25, Hamasaki Ayumi's new single Rule/Sparkle has taken Oricon's No. 1 spot. Her 32nd No. 1 song is also her 20th consecutive single to reach Oricon's top spot since Free & Easy in April 2002. Hamasaki holds the record for longest streak of consecutive No. 1 hits for a female artist, leaving runner-up Matsuda Seiko with 12 consecutive No. 1s far behind her. Her single Rule is the theme song for the movie Dragonball Evolution which opens in Japan on March 13. Hamasaki's new album Next Level will also be released this month.

Exile whose Exile Love, was the highest-selling J-pop album of 2008, announced on March 1 that they are merging with group J Soul Brothers to turn into a 14-member group. Bandleader Hiro commented during their press conference that the addition of new members would fortify their strength and lead to even more grandiose performances. Atsushi and Takahiro will remain in their positions as Exile's lead vocalists. The new Exile will release the single THE MONSTER-Someday on April 15 and kick off their nationwide EXILE LIVE TOUR 2009 - THE MONSTER in May.

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Honoring Korea's best in film and television, the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards were held in Seoul on February 27, 2009.

Awards in film were distributed fairly evenly among the year's critically acclaimed box-office hits, though 2008's biggest release, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, was shut out of the winner's list. Director Kang Woo Suk took the Grand Award (Daesang) for Public Enemy Returns, the third entry in his blockbuster franchise. Oh Jeom Gyoon's alternative romantic comedy Viva! Love beat out blockbusters The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Speedy Scandal, Rough Cut, and Frozen Flower to take Best Film. Best Director was awarded to indie champ Lee Yoon Ki for My Dear Enemy, while top acting honors went to Ju Jin Mo for Frozen Flower and Son Ye Jin for My Wife Got Married.

Sleeper hit Scandal Makers, which turned into Korea's second highest-grossing film of 2008, picked up Best Screenwriter, as well as Best Newcomer Actress and the audience-voted Popularity Award for its petite star Park Bo Young. So Ji Sub and Kang Ji Hwan shared Best Newcomer Actor honors again for Rough Cut; fellow television heartthrob Ju Ji Hoon took the Popularity Award with Antique. Best New Director went to Lee Chung Ryul who delivered last year's most unexpected hit, Old Partner, a documentary about an elderly farming couple and their ill cow.

In television, KBS family drama Mom Has Grown Horns was the big winner, collecting Best TV Drama and the Grand Award for veteran actress Kim Hye Ja. Beethoven Virus maestro Kim Myung Min won Best Actor, while a teary-eyed Moon Geun Young accepted the Best Actress statuette for her gender-bending turn in the SBS period drama The Painter of the Wind. The directing and screenwriting awards all went to SBS series, namely, On Air, Star's Lover, and The Scale of Providence.

Korea's newest poster boy Lee Min Ho, star of the hit KBS youth drama Boys Over Flowers, took a spill on the red carpet, but that didn't stop him from winning Best Newcomer Actor. His F4 co-star Kim Hyun Joong received the Popularity Award. Also a pop idol-turned-actor, Im Yoon Ah of Girls' Generation won both Best Newcomer Actress and the Popularity Award for her starring role in KBS daily drama You Are My Destiny.

Text / Sanwei

With a reported cost of around 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million), Metallic Attraction: Kungfu Cyborg is touted as the film with the highest special effects budget in the history of Chinese Cinema. Production on the film has recently wrapped, and the filmmakers held a press conference in Beijing to announce its summer release.

Last seen at the helm of A Chinese Tall Story in 2005, Hong Kong director Jeff Lau (A Chinese Odyssey) returns with his highly anticipated new film blending sci-fi action with romance and comedy. The effects-heavy movie features a cast headed by Hu Jun (Red Cliff), Sun Li (Painted Skin), Alex Fong Lik Sun (L for Love, L for Lies), Ronald Cheng (All's Well Ends Well 2009), and Wu Jing (Legendary Assassin), with Eric Tsang and Law Ka Ying making cameo appearances. Plot details are still murky, but it is known that the film is set in a distant future, with Hu Jun and Sun Li playing cops. Alex Fong will play a humanoid robot who develops feelings for Sun Li's character. Wu Jing revealed at the press conference that he and Hu Jun have an unusual relationship in the film, cryptically described as "a union of the soul and the body." Hu Jun quickly added, "But not the Lan Yu kind!"

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Takita Yojiro's Departures came up big twice in one weekend, sweeping the 32nd Japan Academy Awards on February 20 and then winning Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards on February 22. Beating The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany), The Class (France), Revanche (Austria), and Waltz with Bashir (Israel), Takita's moving drama about a violinist-turned-small town undertaker is the first Japanese film to win the Foreign Language Film Oscar since Miyamoto Musashi's Samurai, The Legend of Musashi in 1955.

Completing its sweep of domestic accolades, Departures won in 10 of the possible 13 categories at the Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Motoko Masahiro, Best Supporting Actress for Yo Kimiko, and Best Supporting Actor for veteran Yamazaki Tsutomu. Repeating her Blue Ribbons win, Kimura Tae edged out Hirosue Ryoko in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of a woman suffering from depression in Hashiguchi Ryosuke's All Around Us. Miyazaki Hayao's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the highest-grossing film of 2008, unsurprisingly won Best Animated Film as well as Best Music for its Hisaishi Joe-composed score. Best Art Direction went to Nakashima Tetsuya's colorful tragicomedy Paco and the Magical Picture Book. While Departures took Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Japan's Academy Awards gave their Best Foreign Film to The Dark Knight, which gets the critical nod though it grossed comparatively less in Japan than elsewhere in the world.

The Best Newcomer winners, announced back in December 2008 with the nominations, were Koike Teppei (Homeless Chugakusei), Matsuda Shota (Ikigami), Ayaka Wilson (Paco and the Magical Picture Book), Nagabuchi Ayane (Sanbongi Nougyou Koukou, Bajutsubu), Fukuda Saki (Sakura no Sono), and Yoshitaka Yuriko (Snakes and Earrings). Suspect X and Detroit Metal City lead Matsuyama Kenichi received the audience popularity awards. Special awards were also given to legendary director Kon Ichikawa and actor Ogata Ken, both of whom passed away last year.

Text / Sanwei

2009 marks the centenary of Hong Kong Cinema, and if the nominations for the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards announced yesterday are any indication, then period action film is still the way to go for Hong Kong filmmakers. John Woo's historical war epic Red Cliff got the most nominations with 15, followed by Gordon Chan's martial arts fantasy Painted Skin and Wilson Yip's kung fu master biopic Ip Man, each with 12 nods. The "Big Three" will face Ann Hui's Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award-winning drama The Way We Are and Stephen Chow's sci-fi comedy CJ7 for Best Film accolade.

Only three helmers of those five Best Film contenders made it to the Best Director field, as The Sparrow's Johnnie To and Connected's Benny Chan were favored to join John Woo, Wilson Yip, and Ann Hui. Nick Cheung (The Beast Stalker) and Donnie Yen (Ip Man), both first-timers in Hong Kong Film Awards' Best Actor race, have to fight an uphill battle against five-time winner Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Red Cliff), frequent nominee Simon Yam (The Sparrow), and popular actor Louis Koo (Run Papa Run). As for Best Actress, Golden Horse winner Prudence Liew (True Women for Sale) and Film Critics darling Paw Hee Ching (The Way We Are) are in heated contention with another novice Barbie Hsu (Connected), plus usual suspects Karena Lam (Claustrophobia) and Zhou Xun (Painted Skin). Elsewhere, Stephen Chow "only" got a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his onscreen duty, while his goddaughter Xu Jiao is tipped by many to win Best Newcomer, which also sees their CJ7 co-star Kitty Zhang (All About Women) and Taiwan supermodel Lin Chiling (Red Cliff) among the nominated.

Mainland blockbuster director Feng Xiaogang's If You Are The One and Assembly are up against Taiwan's Cape No. 7, Japan's Suspect X, and China/Hong Kong co-production Forever Enthralled for Best Asian Film.

The awards will be given out on April 19.

Text / dian