4th Asian Film Awards: Bong Joon-ho's Mother leads winners

by Craig Takeuchi on March 22nd, 2010 at 11:28 AM

The South Korean film industry shone at the 4th Asian Film Awards held in Hong Kong on March 22, thanks to Bong Joon-ho's Madeo (Mother).

The modern-day noir, about a mother determined to clear her son's name after he is charged with murdering a school girl, won three of its six nominations, including best film, best actress (Kim Hye-ja), and best screenwriter (Park Eun-kyo, Bong Joon-ho). The film is set to open in Vancouver this Friday (March 26).

Another South Korean winner was Yi Zeon-hyoung, who took the award for best visual effects for Chan-wook Park's vampire pic Bakjwi (Thirst).

China's film industry also performed well at the awards. City of Life and Death taking two awards—best director (Lu Chuan) and best cinematographer (Cao Yu). The Hong Kong-China historical action-drama Bodyguards and Assassins garnered two top acting honours: Wang Xueqi won best actor and Vancouver-raised Nicholas Tse was named best supporting actor.

The Malaysia-Hong Kong-South Korea drama At the End of Daybreak also won two acting awards: Ng Meng Hui was named best newcomer while Wai Ying-hung took the title of best actress.

Taiwan's Face won two technical awards: best production designer (Alain-Pascal Housiaux, Patrick Dechesne, Lee Tian-Jue) and best costume designer (Christian Lacroix, Anne Dunsford, Wang Chia-Hui), an award presented by Donatella Versace.

Lo Ta-Yu was named best composer for Hong Kong's Vengeance, and Lee Chatametikool won best editor for Malaysia's Karaoke (directed by former Toronto resident Chris Chong Chan Fui).

Japan, which won numerous awards at last year's edition for films such as Tokyo Sonata, Still Walking, Departures, and Ponyo, went home empty handed this year.

As previously announced, internationally acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou received the Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema award while Indian cinema superstar Amitabh Bachchan was given the Asian Film Award for Lifetime Achievement. Meanwhile, the top-grossing director award went to John Woo, who directed the blockbuster war epic Chi Bi (Red Cliff). (The film was released in two parts in Asia but as one film in North America, which is out on DVD in Canada on April 13.)