'I Am Not Madame Bovary' wins top prize at Asian Film Awards

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Feng Xiaogang’s comedy won best film, actress and cinematography, while The Handmaiden picked up four awards.

Fan Bingbing for I Am Not Madame Bovary

Scroll down for full list of winners

Feng Xiaogang’s I Am Not Madame Bovary won best film, best actress for Fan Bingbing [pictured accepting her award] and best cinematography at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Tuesday night (March 21).

Fan plays a rural woman battling the authorities to restore her honour in the comedy-drama, produced by Feng’s Dongyang Mayla, Sparkle Roll Media and Huayi Brothers. Luo Pan was awarded best cinematography for the film, which was mostly shot in a circular frame.

Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden picked up the most awards of the evening – four in all, including best supporting actress for Moon So-ri and best newcomer for Kim Tae-ri. The erotic period drama was also awarded best production design (Ryu Seong-hie) and best costume design (Cho Sang-kyung).

Best director went to Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jing for supernatural horror film The Wailing, which like Park’s The Handmaiden also premiered at Cannes in 2016.

Best actor went to Japan’s Asano Tadanobu for Koji Fukada’s Harmonium, while best supporting actor went to Lam Suet for Johnnie To’s Trivisa.

Asghar Farhadi was awarded best screenplay for The Salesman, which won best foreign-language Oscar last month (see full list of winners below).

Jelly Lin, the mainland Chinese actress who starred in Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid, picked up the Rising Star of Asia award, while the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award went to Hong Kong actress Sammi Cheng. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to veteran Hong Kong director Tsui Hark.

This year’s Asian Film Awards were held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre following several years in which the ceremony was held at the Venetian in Macau.