Korean director Kim Ji Woon's The Good, the Bad, the Weird leads the pack with eight nominations in seven categories in the 3rd Asian Film Awards (AFA). Set in the Manchurian deserts in the 1930s, the epic western is in contention for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (for Song Kang Ho), Best Supporting Actor (for Jung Woo Sung and Lee Byung Hun), Best Cinematographer, Best Composer, and Best Visual Effects.

In the Best Film category, this South Korean entry is up against China's Forever Enthralled and Red Cliff, Japanese duo Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and Tokyo Sonata, as well as Indonesia representative The Rainbow Troops. Kim Ji Woon's fellow contenders for Best Director include Feng Xiaogang (If You are the One), John Woo (Red Cliff), and Miyazaki Hayao (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea).

Leading man Song Kang Ho looks to take back his Best Actor crown after winning the award previously for The Host in the first edition of AFA, but this time he faces fierce competition from Ge You (If You are the One), Motoki Masahiro (Departures), and fellow Korean actor Ha Jung Woo (The Chaser) among others. Song's co-stars Jung Woo Sung and Lee Byung Hun will be fighting with each other for Best Supporting Actor, with Nick Cheung of The Beast Stalker also a hot favorite for the award.

The Awards ceremony will be held on March 23, 2009, and the complete list of nominations can be found at www.asianfilmawards.org.

Text / dian

Hong Kong Film Critics Society announced on January 4th its picks for the best of Hong Kong Cinema in 2008. Ann Hui's The Way We Are was unanimously voted Best Picture of the year, and Hui repeated her Best Director win after The Postmodern Life of My Aunt the previous year. The film also won Best Actress for veteran thespian Pau Hei Ching, who got her first ever acting accolade. Nick Cheung was also crowned Best Actor for the first time with The Beast Stalker. Best Screenwriter went to Claustrophobia's Ivy Ho. The Society also named seven recommended Hong Kong films of 2008: High Noon, Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, The Sparrow, Run Papa Run, The Beast Stalker, Claustrophobia, and City Without Baseball.

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No upsets at the 7th Korean Film Awards this year, held on December 4 in Seoul, as acclaimed serial-killer thriller The Chaser walked away with seven awards including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Lighting, and Best Editing. Na Hong Jin bagged both Best Director and Best New Director, and lead Kim Yoon Suk picked up yet another Best Actor Award to accompany his Daejong and Blue Dragon statuettes. Kim Ji Woon's blockbuster western The Good, The Bad, The Weird settled for wins in Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound, and Visual Effects.

Beating out heavyweights like Kim Yoon Jin and Son Ye Jin, Kong Hyo Jin was crowned Best Actress for the first time for her performance in Crush and Blush, while co-star Seo Woo won Best New Actress. Seven Days' Park Hee Soon and Forever the Moment's Kim Ji Young repeated their Blue Dragon Best Supporting Actor and Actress wins. Television idol Kang Ji Hwan shared his Best New Actor trophy with Rough Cut co-star So Ji Sub at last month's Blue Dragon Awards, but he gets it all to himself at the Korean Film Awards.

This year's Special Achievement Award was given to veteran actor Shin Young Kyun. Actress Song Yoon Ah hosted the award ceremony, and pop superstars Rain and Big Bang elicited the most screams of the night with their special performances.

Text / Sanwei

Period actioner The Warlords and hit romance Cape No.7 shared the spoils at the 45th Golden Horse Film Awards held in Taichung on December 6.

In terms of number of prizes, Wei Te Sheng's Cape No.7 was king with six, including Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year, Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year for Wei, Best Supporting Actor for Ma Ju Long, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song, and the Audience Award.

But the top prizes were snatched up by The Warlords, which netted Best Feature Film and Best Director for Peter Chan. The Best Visual Effects award rounded off a triumphant night for the all-star epic.

Hong Kong singer-turned-actress Prudence Liew won Best Leading Actress for her portrayal of a downtrodden prostitute in True Women for Sale, while Mainland thespian Zhang Hanyu was awarded Best Leading Actor for Assembly, which also won Best Screenplay Adaptation.

But the night was more memorable for the resurgence of Taiwan Cinema. Besides the phenomenal Cape No.7, a variety of other homegrown films also took prizes home, such as Winds of September (Best Original Screenplay), Orz Boyz (Best Supporting Actress), Parking (Best Art Direction), Candy Rain (Best Make-up & Costume Design), and Hopscotch (Best New Performer).

Other notable winners include Sparrow (Best Cinematography), Connected (Best Action Choreography and Best Film Editing), and Missing (Best Sound Effects).

Text / dian