Mystery, Gangster head Asian Film Awards nominations

The organisers of the awards also announced that Hong Kong star Andy Lau will serve as jury president for this year’s edition, to be held in Hong Kong on March 18.

Mystery, which premiered at Cannes last year, was nominated for best film, director, actress (Hao Lei), newcomer (Qi Xi), screenwriter and composer. Nameless Gangster picked up nods for best actor (Choi Min-sik), newcomer (Kim Sung-kyun), supporting actor (Ha Jung-woo), screenwriter, production designer and composer.

Also nominated for best film were Anurag Kashyap’s gangster drama set in India’s mining badlands, Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2; Johnnie To’s Drug War, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage Beyond and Kim Ki-duk’s Venice Golden Lion winner Pieta.

Four of the five best film nominees were also nominated for best director; Johnnie To missed out on a best director nod which went to Abbas Kiarostami for his Japan-set Like Someone In Love.

India’s burgeoning independent scene was also recognised with a screenwriting nod for Anand Gandhi’s Ship Of Theseus. India also scored a best supporting actor nomination for Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s role in The Answer Lies Within and best composer nod for Barfi!

Five films picked up four nominations each - Kashyap’s Gangs, Kitano’s Outrage, Lu Chuan’s historical epic The Last Supper, Korean heist caper The Thieves and Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi’s Rhino Season.

Organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) with funding from CreateHK and the Film Development Fund, the AFAs take place on the opening night of Filmart (March 18-21) and the night after the opening of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“This year’s theme, ‘An Eye On Asian Cinema’, underlines the AFAs role as a beacon and monitor of what is going on in our part of the world for the international film community and movie-goers,” said HKIFFS executive director Roger Garcia.

FULL LIST OF AFA 2013 NOMINEES:

Best Film:

Drug War (China)

Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2(India)

Mystery (China)

Outrage Beyond (Japan)

Pieta (South Korea)

Best Director:

Anurag KASHYAP - Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 (India)

Abbas KIAROSTAMI - Like Someone In Love (Japan)

KIM Ki-duk - Pieta (South Korea)

KITANO Takeshi - Outrage Beyond (Japan)

LOU Ye - Mystery (China)

Best Actor:

Joseph CHANG - GF*BF (Taiwan)

CHOI Min-sik - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

Eddie GARCIA - BWAKAW (The Philippines)

Tony LEUNG Ka Fai - Cold War (Hong Kong)

LIU Ye - The Last Supper (China)

Best Actress:

Nora AUNOR - Thy Womb (The Philippines)

CHO Min-soo - Pieta (South Korea)

Golshifteh FARAHANI - The Patience Stone (Afghanistan)

GWEI Lun-mei - GF*BF (Taiwan)

HAO Lei - Mystery (China)

Best Newcomer:

CHIEN Man-shu - When A Wolf Falls In Love With A Sheep (Taiwan)

HIGASHIDE Masahiro - The Kirishima Thing (Japan)

HUANG Yu-siang - Touch Of The Light (Taiwan)

KIM Sung-kyun - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

QI Xi - Mystery (China)

Best Supporting Actor:

HA Jung-woo - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

KASE Ryo - Like Someone In Love (Japan)

Nawazuddin SIDDIQUI - The Answer Lies Within (India)

Chapman TO - Diva (Hong Kong)

Rhydian VAUGHAN - GF*BF (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actress:

JUN Ji-hyun - The Thieves (South Korea)

KIM Hye-soo - The Thieves (South Korea)

LI Lieh - Together (Taiwan)

QIN Lan - The Last Supper (China)

WATANABE Makiko - Capturing Dad (Japan)

Best Screenwriter:

Anand GANDHI - Ship Of Theseus (India)

KIYASU Kohei, YOSHIDA Daihachi - The Kirishima Thing (Japan)

MEI Feng, YU Fan, LOU Ye - Mystery (China)

WAI Ka-fai, YAU Nai-hoi, Ryker CHAN, YU Xi - Drug War (China)

YUN Jong-bin - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

Best Cinematographer:

Touraj ASLANI - Rhino Season (Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkey)

CHOI Young-hwan - The Thieves (South Korea)

Rajeev RAVI - Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 (India)

YANAGIJIMA Katsumi - Like Someone In Love (Japan)

ZHANG Li, MA Cheng - The Last Supper (China)

Best Production Designer:

CHO Hwa-sung - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

Bahman GHOBADI, Ali DARYAI - Rhino Season (Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkey)

Wasiq KHAN - Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 (India)

MAN Lim-chung - The Silent War (China-Hong Kong)

YEE Chung-man, Eric LAM Chi-ki - The Last Tycoon (China-Hong Kong)

Best Composer:

Pritam CHAKRABORTY - Barfi! (India)

JO Yeong-wook - Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time (South Korea)

Peyman YAZDANIAN, Johann JOHANNSSON - Mystery (China)

SUZUKI Keiichi - Outrage Beyond (Japan)

UENO Koji - The Floating Castle (Japan)

Best Editor:

KITANO Takeshi, OHTA Yoshinori - Outrage Beyond (Japan)

KUSAKABE Mototaka - The Kirishima Thing (Japan)

Valerie LOISELEUX - Rhino Season (Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkey)

David RICHARDSON, Allen LEUNG - Drug War (China)

SHIN Min-kyung - The Thieves (South Korea)

Best Visual Effects:

Chas CHAU, Lewis CHAN, Benson POON, Johnny LIN - When A Wolf Falls In Love With A Sheep (Taiwan)

KWAK Tae-yong, HWANG Hyo- kyun, LIM Jung-hoon - Doomsday Book (South Korea)

Farbod KHOSHTINAT - Rhino Season (Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkey)

LEE In-ho, JE Young-ho - Soar Into The Sun (South Korea)

ONOUE Katsuro, OYA Tetsuo, SATO Atsuki, TSUJINO Minami - The Floating Castle (Japan)

Best Costume Designer:

CHEN Xue-bing, ZHONG Jia-ni - The Last Supper (China)

Jessie DAI Mei-ling, CHAN Chi-man - The Last Tycoon (China-Hong Kong)

KWAK Jung-ae - A Werewolf Boy (South Korea)

MAN Lim-chung - The Silent War (China-Hong Kong)

OTSUKA Mitsuru, MATSUNAGA Kazuta, INAMURA Akihiko - The Floating Castle (Japan)