Wong Kar Wai remembers missing stuntman

The Grandmaster swept the awards, winning seven prizes including best film, best director and best actress for Zhang Ziyi.

“This horrible tragedy weighs heavily on us as we think of him and all the passengers,” said Wong. “We urge the Malaysian authorities do all possible and take a more transparent approach to clarifying this situation. Our thoughts are with him and all the other passengers and their families.” Zhang also referred to the tragedy in her speech.

The Grandmaster also won best cinematographer (Philippe Le Sourd), best production designer (William Chang Suk-ping, Alfred Yau Wai-ming), best composer (Nathaniel Mechaly, Umebayashi Shigeru) and best costume designer (William Chang Suk-ping).

Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox was the only other film to win more than one prize at the Asian Film Awards – scooping best actor for Irrfan Khan and best screenwriter for Batra.

Meanwhile, mainland Chinese actor Huang Bo won best supporting actor for Ning Hao’s No Man’s Land, while Singapore’s Yeo Yann Yann won best supporting actress for Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo. Best newcomer went to Jiang Shuying for So Young, the hit directorial debut of actress Vicky Zhao Wei.

Shin Min-kyung won best editor for Korean action thriller Cold Eyes, while Jung Sung-jin won best special effects for Korean-Chinese co-production Mr Go.

Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien was presented with the lifetime achievement award. Stephen Chow’s Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons was previously awarded 2013 Top-Grossing Asian Film.

The awards were held for the first time by the Asian Film Awards Academy in Macau’s City Of Dreams, incorporating elements from the House of Dancing Water show. Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-sun Chan headed the jury, which also included celebrity juror Donnie Yen.