All We Imagine As Light took home top honors at the 18th Asian Film Awards (AFA), winning the Best Film prize.
Held at the Grand Theatre at the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong, this year’s AFA selection was overseen by legendary Hong Kong actor and AFA jury president Sammo Hung.
“It is a special thing to win this award in Hong Kong, which is also a special place for cinema,” said All We Imagine As Light director Payal Kapadia. “Filmmaking is so challenging. Every film that gets made is a prize. To find the financing and the right collaborators, to keep the vision intact, even distributing the movie — everything is a challenge. But doing it with a wonderful crew makes everything easier.”
Japanese filmmaker Daihachi Yoshida won Best Director for black-and-white absurdist comedy Teki Cometh.
Sean Lau won Best Actor for his role in Papa, directed by Philip Yung.
Best Actress went to India’s Shahana Goswami from Santosh. Santosh director Sandhya Suri also picked up the Best New Director award for her work on the India-UK-France-Germany co-production.
Veteran Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng, who starred in Yeo Siew Hua’s Stranger Eyes, won the Best Supporting Actor award. Lee has featured in numerous Tsai Ming-liang films and also recently appeared in Constance Tsang’s Blue Sun Palace. Accepting his award, Lee pointed out that his has three films screening at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival and sought audiences for their support for these films there.
Yang Kuei-mei won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Taiwanese film Yen and Ai-Lee directed and written by Tom Lin Shu-yu.
Happyend star Kurihara Hayato picked up the Best Newcomer award for his role in the drama film helmed by Neo Sora.
Iranian filmmaker and writer Mohammad Rasoulof won Best Screenplay for The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Korean horror film Exhuma picked up awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
Best Production Design honors went to Hong Kong box office hit Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.
Best Sound went to long-time Taiwanese sound designer Tu Duu-Chih.
The evening also saw Japanese screen legend Koji Yakusho receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Korean actor Jang Dong-gun and Chinese actress Tang Wei both received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award.
Looking toward the new generation, Wu Kang-ren received the AFA Next Generation Award and Japanese actress-songwriter-model Koki was presented with the Rising Star Award.
