Director Wong Kar Wai’s (王家衛) The Grandmaster <一代宗師> received fourteen nominations for this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, followed closely by director Dante Lam’s (林超賢) Unbeatable <激戰> with nine nominations. The winners will be announced on April 13. Now in its 33rd year, the Hong Kong Film Awards were criticized the previous year for lacking suspense, with police thriller Cold War <寒戰> easily winning nine out of its eleven nominations. However, the competition is expected to be much more heated this year now that many of Hong Kong cinema’s biggest names have trekked back to the arena. The Grandmaster, a biographical film about martial arts legend Ip Man (葉問), led the pack of nominees with fourteen nods, including Best Film and Best Director. Wong Kar Wai, will duke it out with Dante Lam, Johnnie To (杜琪峰), Benny Chan (陳木勝), and Derek Kwok (郭子健) to see who will win this year’s Best Director Award. Although Stephen Chow (周星馳) did not net a nomination for his directing work on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons <西遊·降魔篇>, the film itself did receive a nod for Best Film. Journey to the West is up against powerhouses The Grandmaster and Unbeatable, as well as crime thriller The White Storm <掃毒> and dance flick The Way We Dance <狂舞派>. In an interesting twist, two of this year’s Best Actor nominees portrayed the same character, Ip Man, though in different films – Tony Leung Chiu Wai (梁朝偉) in The Grandmaster and Anthony Wong (黃秋生) in Ip Man: The Final Fight <葉問：終極一戰>. Joining the scuffle for Best Actor are Louis Koo (古天樂) and Sean Lau (劉青雲), both from The White Storm, as well as Nick Cheung (張家輝) from Unbeatable. For the first time in six years, Best Actress may be awarded to a mainland Chinese actress, namely Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) for The Grandmaster or Tang Wei (湯唯) for Finding Mr. Right <北京遇上西雅圖>. Their fellow nominees include Nina Paw (鮑起靜), Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文), and newbie actress Cherry Ngan (顏卓靈). Mainland Chinese actresses had previously snagged the Best Actress Award four years in a row, from 2004 to 2008, after which Hong Kong actresses began expressing their discontent with the situation. Last year, mainland Chinese actress Zhou Xun (周迅) was nominated twice for the award but lost to Miriam Yeung (楊千嬅). Best Film: - The Grandmaster - Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons - The Way We Dance - The White Storm - Unbeatable Best Director: - Wong Kar Wai (The Grandmaster) - Johnnie To (Drug War) - Benny Chan (The White Storm) - Derek Kwok (As the Light Goes Out) - Dante Lam (Unbeatable) Best Screenplay: - Zou Jingzhi, Xu Haofeng, Wong Kar Wai (The Grandmaster) - Zhou Zhiyong, Zhang Ji, Aubrey Lam (American Dreams in China) - Xue Xiaolu (Finding Mr. Right) - Wai Ka Fai, Yau Nai Hoi, Ryker Chan, Yu Xi (Blind Detective) - Jack Ng, Fung Chi Fung, Dante Lam (Unbeatable) Best Actor: - Tony Leung (The Grandmaster) - Louis Koo (The White Storm) - Sean Lau (The White Storm) - Anthony Wong (Ip Man: The Final Fight) - Nick Cheung (Unbeatable) Best Actress: - Zhang Ziyi (The Grandmaster) - Tang Wei (Finding Mr. Right) - Cherry Ngan (The Way We Dance) - Sammi Cheng (Blind Detective) - Nina Paw (Rigor Mortis) Best Supporting Actor: - Zhang Jin (The Grandmaster) - Tong Dawei (American Dreams in China) - Huang Bo (Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons) - Eddie Peng (Unbeatable) - Antony Chan (Rigor Mortis) Best Supporting Actress: - Du Juan (American Dreams in China) - Carina Lau (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Law Lan (The White Storm) - Crystal Lee (Unbeatable) - Kara Hui (Rigor Mortis) Best New Performer: - Du Juan (American Dreams in China) - Fish Liew (Doomsday Party) - Lin Gengxin (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Babyjohn Choi (The Way We Dance) - Angel Chiang (A Secret Between Us) Best Cinematography: - Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster) - Anthony Pun (The White Storm) - Jason Kwan (As the Light Goes Out) - Kenny Tse (Unbeatable) - Ng Kai Ming (Rigor Mortis) Best Film Editing: - William Chang, Benjamin Courtines, Poon Hung Yiu (The Grandmaster) - Kwong Chi Leung, Ron Chan (Firestorm) - Yau Chi Wai (The White Storm) - Wong Hoi (As the Light Goes Out) - Azrael Chung (Unbeatable) Best Art Direction: - William Chang, Alfred Yau (The Grandmaster) - Eric Lam (Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons) - Ken Mak (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Eric Lam (As the Light Goes Out) - Irving Cheung (Rigor Mortis) Best Costume & Makeup Design: - William Chang (The Grandmaster) - Dora Ng (American Dreams in China) - Lee Pik Kwan, Bruce Yu (Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons) - Lee Pik Kwan, Bruce Yu (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Miggy Cheng, Phoebe Wong, Kittichon Kunratchol (Rigor Mortis) Best Action Choreography: - Yuen Woo Ping (The Grandmaster) - Yuen Bun (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Chin Ka Lok (Firestorm) - Donnie Yen (Special ID) - Ling Chi Wah (Unbeatable) Best Original Film Score: - Shigeru Umebayashi, Nathaniel Mechaly (The Grandmaster) - Kenji Kawai (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Day Tai, Afuc Chan (The Way We Dance) - Teddy Robin, Tomy Wai (As the Light Goes Out) - Henry Lai (Unbeatable) Best Original Film Song: - “New Order” <新秩序 > (Young and Dangerous: Reloaded) - “Let’s Dance Crazily” <狂舞吧> (The Way We Dance) - “Blind Love” <盲愛> (Blind Detective) - “Lifelong Sympathy” <心照一生> (The White Storm) - “Love is the Greatest” <愛最大> (As the Light Goes Out) Best Sound Design: - Robert Mackenzie, Traithep Wongpaiboon (The Grandmaster) - Kinson Tsang (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Phyllis Cheng (As the Light Goes Out) - Phyllis Cheng (Unbeatable) - Benny Chu, Steve Miller (Rigor Mortis) Best Visual Effects: - Pierre Buffin (The Grandmaster) - Wook Kim (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon) - Yee Kwok Leung, Lai Man Chun, Ho Kwan Yeung, Garrett K. Lam (Firestorm) - Henri Wong, Hugo Kwan, Walter Wong (As the Light Goes Out) - Enoch Chan (Rigor Mortis) Best New Director: - Adam Wong (The Way We Dance) - Alan Yuen (Firestorm) - Juno Mak (Rigor Mortis) Best Film from Mainland China and Taiwan: - Rock Me to the Moon (Taiwan) - Lost in Thailand (China) - The Last Supper (China) - Touch of the Light (Taiwan) - So Young (China) Creds: QQ
