The eighth annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) unveiled its competition winners at a star-studded event on Friday (11/18) at Beverly Hill’s Saban Theater. The Last Film Show (India), directed by Pan Nalin, won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film; Mohsen Tanabandeh garnered the Snow Leopard for Best Actor for World War III (Iran), and Hui Fang Hong was honored with the Snow Leopard for Best Actress for Ajoomma (Singapore).
The Snow Leopard Special Jury Award went to World War III, directed by Houman Seyed, and the Snow Leopard Audience Award to Aurora’s Sunrise (Armenia), directed by Inna Sahakyan. In a first for AWFF, excellence in cinematography was honored. Kerr (Turkey) director of photography, Andreas Sinanos, received the Panavision Best Cinematography Award along with a $60,000 Panavision Camera Grant of cutting-edge filmmaking equipment.
Short films and the talent behind them were also recognized at the standing-room-only event. The Hollywood Foreign Press (HFPA), which hosted the AWFF’s short film competition, bestowed the HFPA Scholarship Best Short Award of $5,000 upon director Dania Bdeir for Warsha (Lebanon/France). HFPA runner-up, Adilet Karzhoev, director of Burul (Kyrgyzstan), was honored with the StarsCollective Emerging Filmmaker Award of $2,000. Additionally, the Panavision Award for Short Film Cinematography, plus a $15,000 camera grant, was bestowed upon Amirhossein Khoshbin, director of photography on Deer (Iran).
“In this our eighth annual AWFF we have exemplified the good fortune of the number eight by screening an amazing bounty of cinematic riches,” said Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF executive director. “We exhibited films from more than 50 nations, and each in their own way was emblematic of the value of Asian voices to the industry and to audiences. The awards reflect the spirit of AWFF and the essence of what the festival stands for!”
The competition and previously announced honorary awards were delivered during a music-filled ceremony hosted by actress, philanthropist, and founder of the One Heart Movement, Krista Kleiner, and actor, writer, and producer Jeff Locker. Among the evenings internationally recognized performers were singer, songwriter Dam Vinh Hung and Ha Phuong, singer, actress, and founder of Ha Phuong Foundation–both born in South Vietnam.
The complete awards list is as follows:
AWFF Competition Winners
- Snow Leopard for Best Film – The Last Film Show (India), Pan Nalin, director
- Snow Leopard for Best Actor – Mohsen Tanabandeh, World War III (Iran)
- Snow Leopard for Best Actress – Hui Fang Hong, Ajoomma (Singapore)
- Snow Leopard Audience Award – Aurora’s Sunrise (Armenia), Inna Sahakyan, director
- Snow Leopard Special Jury Award – World War III (Iran), Houman Seyedi, director
- Panavision Best Cinematography Award and Panavision Camera Grant – Andreas Sinanos, cinematographer, Kerr (Turkey)
- Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship Award of $5000 – “Warsha” (Lebanon/France), Dania Bdeir, director
- StarsCollective Emerging Filmmaker Award – Adilet Karzhoev, director, “Burul” (Kyrgyzstan)
- Panavision Award for Short Film Cinematography – Amirhossein Khoshbin, cinematographer, “Deer” (Iran)
AWFF Honorees (Previously Announced)
- Snow Leopard Award for Outstanding Cinematic Achievement – Park Chan-wook, writer, director, producer
- Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award – Albert S. Ruddy, producer
- Snow Leopard Rising Star Award – Desmond Chiam, actor, writer, producer
- The Bruce Lee Award, in partnership with the Bruce Lee Foundation – Daniel Wu, actor, martial artist, director, producer
- Ladies Tiffany Circle American Red Cross Courage to Dream Award – Dr. Michael Dao and Dr. Linh Bui, physicians and philanthropists
- Winn Slavin Humanitarian Award – Truong Ngoc Anh, philanthropist
- One Heart Award – Love Life Learning Foundation, cofounders Alan Vo Ford and Jenny Ai Trinh Thai
- Angel Benefactor Award – Jennifer McCormick and Lani Netter, Ladies Tiffany Circle American Red Cross
- Angel Benefactor Award – Raghu Kilambi, CEO/CFO, Power Tap Hydrogen Fueling Corporation
The eighth annual Asian World Film Festival took place November 9–18 in Los Angeles and featured 20 submissions for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. Seventeen films screened in competition.
