Flying Swords leads nominations for Asian Film Awards

Zhang Yimou’s Flowers Of War and Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng’s Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale followed closely behind with six nods apiece, including best film and best director.

Although both films have Chinese-speaking directors, they are not completely Chinese-language – Flowers Of War is mixed English and Chinese, while Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale was filmed mostly in Japanese and an aboriginal language.

Golden Globe winner Nader And Simin: A Separation, from Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, came in next with five nods including best film and best director. Rounding out the best film category are Postcard from Japan’s Shindo Kaneto and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Don’t Get Life A Second Time) from India’s Zoya Akhtar. 

Best director nominees also include Indonesia’s Teddy Soeriaatmadja for Lovely Man and Japan’s Sono Sion for Guilty Of Romance (see full list below).

Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo has been appointed president of this year’s 12-person jury, marking the first time that somebody from outside Hong Kong has held the post.

Meanwhile Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her latest film, Venice best actress winner A Simple Life, is also nominated at the AFAs for best actor (Andy Lau) and actress (Deanie Ip).

Organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS), the AFAs are entering their sixth edition this year. They will be held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre on March 19, which is also the first day of Filmart.

6th ASIAN FILM AWARDS NOMINATION LIST

Best Film

NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

POSTCARD (Japan)

THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA (India)

Best Director

Asghar FARHADI – NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Teddy SOERIAATMADJA – LOVELY MAN (Indonesia)

SONO Sion – GUILTY OF ROMANCE (Japan)

TSUI Hark – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

WEI Te-sheng – WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

ZHANG Yimou – THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

Best Actor

CHEN Kun – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

Donny DAMARA – LOVELY MAN  (Indonesia)

Andy LAU – A SIMPLE LIFE (Hong Kong)

PARK Hae Il – WAR OF THE ARROWS (South Korea)

YAKUSHO Kôji – CHRONICLE OF MY MOTHER (Japan)

Best Actress

Vidya BALAN – THE DIRTY PICTURE (India)

Michelle CHEN – YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE (Taiwan)

Eugene DOMINGO – THE WOMAN IN THE SEPTIC TANK (The Philippines)

Leila HATAMI – NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Deanie IP – A SIMPLE LIFE (Hong Kong)

Best Newcomer

KO Chen-tung – YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE (Taiwan)

Eric LIN Hui-min – STARRY STARRY NIGHT (Taiwan)

MAEDA Ohshiro – I WISH (Japan)

NI Ni – THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

Gita NOVALISTA – THE MIRROR NEVER LIES (Indonesia)

Best Supporting Actor

Umin Boya – WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

Lawrence KO – JUMP! ASHIN (Taiwan)

LEE Je-hoon – THE FRONT LINE (South Korea)

Mario MAURER – THE OUTRAGE (Thailand)

Best Supporting Actress

Shamaine BUENCAMINO – Niño (The Philippines)

GWEI Lun-mei – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

Cris HORWANG – HEADSHOT (Thailand)

MITSUSHIMA Hikari – HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI (Japan)

YAN Ni – 11 FLOWERS (Mainland China / France)

Best Screenwriter

Asghar FARHADI – NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

KANETO Shindô – POSTCARD (Japan)

LIU Heng, YAN Geling – THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

Alan MAK, Felix CHONG – OVERHEARD 2 (Hong Kong)

Chris MARTINEZ – THE WOMAN IN THE SEPTIC TANK (The Philippines)

Best Cinematographer

CHIN Ting-chang – WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

Vishvajith KARUNARATHNA – FLYING FISH (Sri Lanka)

KIM Woo-hyung – THE FRONT LINE (South Korea)

Jake POLLOCK, LAI Yiu-fai (HKSC) – WU XIA (Hong Kong / China)

Rahmat SYAIFUL – THE MIRROR NEVER LIES (Indonesia)

Best Production Designer

Suzanne Caplan MERWANJI – ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA (India)

RYU Seong-hee – THE FRONT LINE (South Korea)

TANEDA Yohei – WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

YEE Chung-man, Ben LAU – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

YEE Chung-man, SUN Li – WU XIA (Hong Kong / China)

Best Composer

CHAN Kwong-wing, Peter KAM, Chatchai PONGPRAPAPHAN – WU XIA (Hong Kong / China)

CHEN Qigang – THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

Ricky HO – WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIQ BALE (Taiwan)

Rahat Fateh Ali KHAN, A.R. RAHMAN, Neeraj SHRIDHAR – ROCKSTAR (India)

SAKAMOTO Ryuichi – HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI (Japan)

Best Editor

Curran PANG – OVERHEARD 2 (Hong Kong)

Nelly QUETTIER – 11 FLOWERS (China / France)

Hayedeh SAFIYARI – NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION (Iran)

Anand SUBAYA – ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA (India)

TANG Man-to – WHITE VENGEANCE (Mainland China)

Best Visual Effects

Ritesh AGGARWAL – RA. ONE (India)

KAMIYA Makoto – GANTZ (Japan)

Wook KIM, Josh COLE, Frankie CHUNG – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)

XIAO Yang, CHANG Song, A Law, LI Ming-hsung, LI Jin-hui – STARRY STARRY NIGHT (Taiwan)

YUNG Kwok-yin, Andy KANG – WU XIA (Hong Kong / China)

Best Costume Designer

AMANO Kyoko – MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY (Japan)

William CHANG Suk-ping – THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Mainland China)

MOK Kwan-kit – WHITE VENGEANCE (Mainland China)

Noppadol TECHO – THE OUTRAGE (Thailand)

YEE Chung-man – THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE (Hong Kong / China)