The Thai film “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” was named best picture at the fifth Asian Film Awards on Monday in a ceremony overshadowed by the absence of Japanese filmmakers who stayed home in the wake of a deadly earthquake and tsunami.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s mystical drama follows a dying man from Thailand’s rural northeast who explores his past and the idea of reincarnation in his final days. Apichatpong said it was especially sweet to win in his home region, a year after he took the top Palme d’Or award at France’s Cannes Film Festival.
The director, whose earlier credits include “Tropical Malady” and “Syndromes and a Century,” said the critical acclaim his contemplative work received signaled displeasure with the growing influence of western commercial cinema.
“I think maybe that shows that’s what some people need, because the films that are being made now are so universal in terms of style and storytelling. That means maybe we need something different and some diversity,” he said.
“When you see many Asian films, sometimes the vocabulary of filmmaking is totally American, which is not bad but somehow we need something different, some variety for more fresh air,” he said.
Veteran South Korean director Lee Chang-dong took home best director and best screenplay for “Poetry,” about an elderly woman who discovers a passion for writing poems. Lee also won best screenplay for the same movie at Cannes last year.
Another South Korean, Ha Jung-woo, won best actor for his role as a minority Korean in China who becomes a contract killer in his ethnic homeland to pay off his debts in “The Yellow Sea.”
China’s Xu Fan was best actress for playing a grieving widow in her husband Feng Xiaogang’s earthquake epic “Aftershock,” which also won for best visual effects. Feng’s picture, set against the deadly 1976 earthquake in the northeastern Chinese city Tangshan, was also honored for box office performance after its massive domestic take of $100 million last year.
But as the cream of Asian cinema celebrated their best works from the past year, they also remembered the suffering in Japan, highlighted by the sparse attendance from the country’s film industry. Nominated stars, like actor Koji Yakusho (“13 Assassins”) and actresses Rinko Kikuchi (“Norwegian Wood”) and Takako Matsu (“Confessions”), missed Monday’s ceremony. The lone Japanese winner of the night, “13 Assassins” production designer Yuji Hayashida, also was absent.
The hosts, presenters and winners sent best wishes to the Japanese people. Famed American producer Harvey Weinstein delivered a public greeting to his friend, Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, before handing out the best actor award with Hong Kong actress Carina Lau.
Addressing the Japanese public, Weinstein said, “We hope you’re safe and we hope things turn very well very quickly.”
Accepting his box office award, Feng announced that two of the investors in “Aftershock,” Hong Kong studio Media Asia and mainland counterpart Huayi Brothers, have pledged 500,000 Chinese yuan ($76,000) for relief efforts. Champagne maker Moet & Chandon chipped in another 180,000 Hong Kong dollars ($23,000) to the Japanese Red Cross — HK$10,000 ($1,300) for each of the 18 awards handed out Monday.
In other awards, veteran Hong Kong action star Sammo Hung was named best supporting actor for portraying a rival kung fu master “Ip Man 2,” the biopic of Bruce Lee’s kung fu teacher by the same name. South Korea’s Yoon Yeo-jeong won for her supporting role in “The Housemaid” as a housekeeper whose new assistant unleashes disaster by having an affair with her employer.
Retired Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow, who guided the careers of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, was honored for lifetime achievement. Kim Dong-ho, who built South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival into one of the region’s best, received a prize for outstanding contribution to Asian cinema. Organizers also paid tribute to Hong Kong-based Fortissimo Films, a company that specializes in marketing and distributing Asian movies.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More