Japan’s ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ nabs top prize at 2024 Asian Film Awards
Oscar-winning director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s drama film “Evil Does Not Exist” clinched the top prize at the 17th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Sunday night.
Best Picture: The Japanese formalist arthouse drama was one of the most nominated films along with South Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day,” with six each. Hamaguchi’s film, which delves into the battle lines between modern civilization and the natural world, took home wins for best picture and best original music.
South Korea’s win: Kim Sung-su’s historical action-drama film “12.12: The Day,” which depicts various military factions wrestling for control following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979, took home awards for best supporting actor (Park Hoon) and best editing by Kim Sang-bum.
Other winners: China’s “Snow Leopard,” Hong Kong’s “The Goldfinger” and Japan’s “Godzilla Minus One” also earned two awards at the ceremony. Filmmakers Kore-eda Hirokazu (Japan’s “Monster”) and Nick Cheuk (Hong Kong’s “Time Still Turns the Pages”) won best directors, while Yakusho Koji in Japan’s “Perfect Days” and Jiang Qinqin in China’s “Dwelling by the West Lake” were voted best actors.
Lifetime achievement honor: Chinese director Zhang Yimou received a lifetime achievement honor and the trophy for the highest-grossing Asian film with “Full River Red,” which earned $634 million last year. “Full River Red,” set during the Southern Song Dynasty, narrates the tale of two soldiers drawn into a conspiracy as they unravel the mystery behind the murder of a messenger from a rival dynasty.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have chosen filmmaking as my lifelong profession. Having been in the industry for over four decades, I am grateful to everyone who appreciates my films. I will keep learning and strive to surpass myself. Always having anticipations for the future, I hope that my best film will be my next one,” Zhang said, according to Variety.
Here’s the full list of Asian Film Awards 2024 winners:
Best Film
“12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
“Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
“Perfect Days” (Japan)
“Snow Leopard” (China)
Winner: “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Best Director
Kim Sung-soo for “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
Gu Xiaogang for “Dwelling by the West Lake” (China)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Prasanna Vithanage for “Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
Winner: Kore-eda Hirokazu for “Monster” (Japan)
Best New Director
Khagvadulam Purev-Ochir for “City of Wind” (France, Mongolia, Portugal, Netherlands, Qatar, Germany)
Pham Thien An for “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” (Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain)
Dominic Sangma for “Rapture” (India, China, Switzerland, Qatar, Netherlands)
Amanda Nell Eu for “Tiger Stripes” (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar)
Winner: Nick Cheuk for “Time Still Turns the Pages” (Hong Kong)
Best Actor
Hwang Jung-min in “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
Wu Kang-Ren in “Abang Adik” (Malaysia)
Shen Teng in “Full River Red” (China)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai in “The Goldfinger” (Hong Kong, China)
Winner: Yakusho Koji in “Perfect Days” (Japan)
Best Actress
Jung Yu-mi in “Sleep” (South Korea)
Zhou Dongyu in “The Breaking Ice” (China, Singapore)
Audrey Lin in “Trouble Girl” (Taiwan)
Kikuchi Rinko in “658km Yoko” (Japan)
Winner: Jiang Qinqin in “Dwelling by the West Lake” (China)
Best Supporting Actor
Jack Tan in “Abang Adik” (Malaysia)
Nakamura Shido in “Kubi” (Japan)
Park Jung-min in “Smugglers” (South Korea)
Sean Wong in “Time Still Turns the Pages” (Hong Kong)
Winner: Park Hoon in “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
Best Supporting Actress
Hamabe Minami in “Godzilla Minus One” (Japan)
Tsutsui Mariko in “Last Shadow at First Light” (Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, The Philippines, Indonesia)
Go Min-si in “Smugglers” (South Korea)
Wan Fang in “Snow in Midsummer” (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore)
Winner: Rachel Leung in “In Broad Daylight” (Hong Kong)
Best Newcomer
Awat Ratanapintha in “Doi Boy” (Thailand, Cambodia)
Yoyo Tse in “Fly Me to the Moon” (Hong Kong)
WangYibo in “Hidden Blade” (China)
Shirata Mihaya in “Last Shadow at First Light” (Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, The Philippines, Indonesia)
Winner: Tergel Bold-Erdene in “City of Wind” (Mongolia, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Qatar, Germany)
Best Screenplay
Hamaguchi Ryusuke for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Sakamoto Yuji for “Monster”
Prasanna Vithanage and Anushka Senanayake for “Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
Jason Yu for “Sleep” (South Korea)
Winner: Pema Tseden for “Snow Leopard” (China)
Best Editing
Hamaguchi Ryusuke, and YAMAZAKI Azusa for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Matthieu Laclau for “Only the River Flows” (China)
Sreekar Prasad for “Paradise” (Sri Lanka, India)
Nick Cheuk, Keith Chan Hiu Chun for “Time Still Turns the Pages” (Hong Kong)
Winner: Kim Sang-bum for “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
Best Cinematography
Lee Mo-gae for “12.12: The Day” (South Korea)
Kitagawa Yoshio for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Chengma Zhiyuan for “Only the River Flows” (China)
Azamat Dulatov for “Qas” (Kazakhstan)
Winner: Matthias Delvaux for “Snow Leopard” (China)
Best Original Music
Umebayashi Shigeru for “Dwelling by the West Lake” (China)
Akmaral Mergen for “Qas” (Kazakhstan)
Anon Ch Momin for “Rapture” (India, China, Switzerland, Qatar, Netherlands)
Lee Dong-june for “1947 Road to Boston” (South Korea)
Winner: Ishibashi Eiko for “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan)
Best Costume Design
Tim Yip for “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms” (China)
Kurosawa Kazuko for “Kubi” (Japan)
Yoon Jung-hee for “Smugglers” (South Korea)
Elaine Ng for “Snow in Midsummer” (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore)
Winner: Man Lim Chung for “The Goldfinger” (Hong Kong, China)
Best Production Design
Cho Hwa-sung for “Concrete Utopia” (South Korea)
Mitsumatsu Keiko for “Monster” (Japan)
Zhang Menglun for “Only the River Flows” (China)
Daktse Drundrup for “Snow Leopard” (China)
Winner: Eric Lam for “The Goldfinger” (Hong Kong, China)
Best Visual Effects
Eun Jae-hyun for “Concrete Utopia” (South Korea)
Douglas Hans Smith for “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms” (China)
Jin Jong-Hyun for “The Moon” (South Korea)
Allen Wei, Ahdee Chiu, Ding Yanlai, Eric Xu for “The Wandering Earth II” (China)
Winner: Yamazaki Takashi, Shibuya Kiyoko, Takahashi Masaki, Nojima Tatsuji for “Godzilla Minus One” (Japan)
Best Sound
Kim Hyun-sang for “Concrete Utopia” (South Korea)
Yang Jiang, Zhao Nan for “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms” (China)
Vuong Gia Bao, Xander Toh for “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” (Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain)
Tu Duu-Chih, Wu Shu-Yao for “Snow in Midsummer” (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore).
Winner: Inoue Natsuko for “Godzilla Minus One” (Japan)
AFA Next Generation Award: Zhao Liying, actor (China)
Excellence in Asian Cinema: Lee Young-ae, actor (Korea) and Suzuki Ryuhei, actor (Japan)
Asia Rising Star Award: Win Metawin, actor (Thailand)
Highest Grossing Asian Film: “Full River Red” by Zhang Yimou (China)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Zhang Yimou, director (China)
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