Asian Film Festivals and Awards

[GeneChing]

Asian Film Awards

Grandmaster is also leading HKFA nominations and has two noms for the Oscars.

Grandmaster leads 8th AFA nominations
By Kevin Ma
Tue, 11 February 2014, 23:59 PM (HKT)
Awards News

Nominations for the 8th Asian Film Awards (27 Mar 2014) were announced in Hong Kong this afternoon.

Continuing its success this awards season, WONG Kar-wai 's The Grandmaster is nominated in 11 out of 14 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

BONG Joon-ho | 's Snowpiercer was in distant second-place in recognition at the awards with five nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Production Designer and Best Costume Designer.

A total of 28 films from ten countries and regions are nominated this year from over a thousand eligible films. Hong Kong films have the most nominations with a total of 19 shared between The Grandmaster (11 nominations), Rigor Mortis (4 nominations), Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (3 nominations) and The Way We Dance (1 nomination).

Films from South Korea and Japan are tied at 14 nominations each. In addition to the 5 recognitions for Snowpiercer, the nominated South Korean films are Cold Eyes (4 nominations), The Attorney (3 nominations), Mr. Go (1 nomination) and The Face Reader (1 nomination).

The 14 nominations for films from Japan are shared between The Great Passage (3 nominations), Like Father, Like Son (3 nominations), Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (3 nominations), Tokyo Family (2 nominations), Backwater (1 nomination) and The Ravine of Goodbye (1 nomination).

After being organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited for the past seven years, this year’s award is being organised by the new Asian Film Awards Academy, a combined effort between the Hong Kong International Film Festival , the Busan International Film Festival and the Tokyo International Film Festival .

HKIFF’s chairman Wilfred WONG serves as the Chairman of the AFAA committee, which also includes BIFF’s LEE Yong-kwan | and TIFF’s SHIINA Yasushi .

Also for the first time this year, the award ceremony has been moved to a venue outside of Hong Kong, to a casino resort in neighbouring Macau. While the ceremony is traditionally held on the first day of the Hong Kong FilMart, this year’s ceremony will be held on 27 Mar, the final day of this year’s film market.

Director Peter CHAN is serving as this year’s jury president, with Donnie YEN joining as a “celebrity jury” member. The two are joined by the Philippines’ Ronald ARGUELLES, Indonesia’s John BADALU, Japan’s ISHIZAKA Kenji , France’s Christian JEUNE, Singapore’s Eric KHOO , South Korea’s Lee Yong-kwan, Thailand’s Kong RITHDEE , Taiwan’s WEN Tien-hsiang , as well as Hong Kong’s Jacob WONG and Patricia CHENG .

“Each industry, although successful commercially, is becoming more and more localised, catering to the taste of local audiences. As a result there are fewer channels for crossover distribution outside local markets. I think AFA is not only important in its celebration of Asian film and filmmakers, but an event that can bring Asian films together,” says Chan.

ASIAN FILM AWARDS – PARTIAL LIST OF NOMINEES

BEST FILM
The Grandmaster
The Great Passage
The Lunchbox
No Man’s Land
Snowpiercer
Stray Dogs

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon-ho; Snowpiercer
Anthony CHEN ; Ilo Ilo
KORE-EDA Hirokazu ; Like Father, Like Son
TSAI Ming-liang ; Stray Dogs
Wong Kar-wai; The Grandmaster

BEST ACTOR
FUKUYAMA Masaharu ; Like Father, Like Son
Irrfan KHAN; The Lunchbox
LEE Kang-sheng ; Stray Dogs
Tony LEUNG Chiu-wai ; The Grandmaster
SONG Gang-ho | ; The Attorney

BEST ACTRESS
Eugene DOMINGO; Barber’s Tales Mga kuwentong barbero
HAN Hyo-ju | ; Cold Eyes
Nina PAW ; Rigor Mortis
MAKI Yoko ; The Ravine of Goodbye
ZHANG Ziyi ; The Grandmaster

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark CHAO ; So Young
HUANG Bo ; No Man’s Land
JEONG U-seong | ; Cold Eyes
Joe ODAGIRI ; The Great Passage
TSUMABUKI Satoshi ; Tokyo Family

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AOI Yu ; Tokyo Family
Mavis FAN ; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
KIM Yeong-ae ; The Attorney
NIKAIDO Fumi ; Why Don’t You Play in Hell?
YEO Yann Yann ; Ilo Ilo

BEST SCREENPLAY
Ritesh BATRA; The Lunchbox
Bong Joon-ho, Kelly MASTERSON; Snowpiercer
LIU Qiang ; So Young
WATANABE Kensaku ; The Great Passage
Wong Kar-wai, ZOU Jingzhi , XU Haofeng ; The Grandmaster

BEST NEWCOMER
BabyJohn CHOI ; The Way We Dance
IM Shi-wan ; The Attorney
Maggie JIANG ; So Young
KINO****A Misaki ; Backwater
NINOMIYA Keita ; Like Father, Like Son

[GeneChing]

And the winner is…

…The Grandmaster.

Grandmaster wins 7 at Asian Film Awards

By Kevin Ma
Fri, 28 March 2014, 13:30 PM (HKT)
Awards News

The Grandmaster dominated last night’s 8th Asian Film Awards. It had eleven nominations. It set a new record for the most prizes given to a single film in the event’s history.

WONG Kar-wai 's martial arts epic won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (ZHANG Ziyi ), Best Cinematography (Philippe LE SOURD), Best Production Designer (William CHANG , Alfred YAU ), Best Costume Designer (Chang) and Best Composer (UMEBAYASHI Shigeru , Nathaniel MÉCHALY).

The only other film to win more than one award this year is India’s The Lunchbox, with Irrfan KHAN winning Best Actor and director Ritesh BATRA winning Best Screenwriter.

After two consecutive years with no awards, South Korean films finally returned to the stage this year with two technical prizes: Best Visual Effects for Mr. Go and Best Editor for Cold Eyes . However, BONG Joon-ho | , whose Mother (2009) and The Host (2006) were major winners at previous editions, did not win a single award for Snowpiercer .

Despite receiving 14 nominations, Japanese films left empty-handed.

Maggie JIANG won Best Newcomer for So Young ; HUANG Bo won Best Supporting Actor for No Man’s Land ; YEO Yann Yann won Best Supporting Actress for Ilo Ilo .

Taiwan’s HOU Hsiao-hsien received the Lifetime Achievement award. Hou said, “I didn’t want to win this award so early because I still have many films I want to make. I’ll take this award as encouragement to make better films.”

This year’s award ceremony was held in Macau for the first time as a joint project of the Hong Kong International Film Festival , the Busan International Film Festival and the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival.

[GeneChing]

Huading awards

Halle Berry Named ‘Best Global Icon’ at China’s Version of The Oscars
Jun 2, 14 by EURPublisher01

Actress Halle Berry accepts the Global Movie Icon Award at the 2014 Huading Film Awards at The Montalban Theatre on June 1, 2014 in Los Angeles

*Halle Berry was among the honorees in attendance at China’s equivalent of the Oscars, the Huading Awards, held for the first time in the U.S. at the Montalban theater in Hollywood on Sunday night.
The live telecast reached more than 800 million viewers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where 80 million fans voted for the best in the film industry, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Berry was named best global icon at the ceremony. Though she didn’t talk to the press, Berry did say a few words upon receiving her award, calling to mind her visit to Shanghai a few years ago and the warm welcome she received from Chinese fans.
“I felt like I was an original Beatle when I got off that airplane,” Berry said. “I hope that I will continue to be able to make movies and entertain the Chinese audience and I’m so glad that we get to have an interpersonal relationship with all of you.”

Actress Lucy Liu (L) walks actress Halle Berry offstage after presenting Berry with the Global Movie Icon Award at the 2014 Huading Film Awards at The Montalban Theatre on June 1, 2014 in Los Angeles

Orlando Bloom won for best global actor icon, and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro received the best global director award.
Bradley Cooper was voted as best global actor and actors Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson accepted the best global movie award for “Fast & Furious 6” in memory of Paul Walker.
Zoe Saldana was recognized as best global supporting actress and Jeremy Renner was awarded best global supporting actor.
DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg accepted the best global animated film award for “The Croods.”
Composer Hans Zimmer was presented with the lifetime achievement award for his motion picture scores.
Hosted by actress Lucy Liu and Chinese television personality Olivia Xu, the show featured performances from Jabbawockeez (winners of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), the Shaolin Warriors, The Voice China winner Summer Jikejunyi, and magician Master Zhao.
While the Oscars this year rose to 43.7 million viewers, the Huading awards reaches one of the largest audiences celebrating the achievements of many prominent American entertainers with an additional 400 million watching online.

My coach, Shi Yantuo, was part of this Shaolin Warriors troupe. He got a nice pic with Lucy Liu. Shaolin Warriors promoter Sal Redner invited Tiger Claw, but unfortunately, it was a last minute invite and both Jonny and I were already booked.

China’s Huading Awards Make Hollywood Debut

JUNE 2, 2014 | 12:26PM PT
Andrea Seikaly
@AndiSeikaly
The Huading Film Awards, China’s No. 1 entertainment kudos fest, took place in the U.S. for the first time on Sunday evening at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.

International film stars including Lucy Liu, Halle Berry and Orlando Bloom were among the honorees in attendance at the bilingual event, which reached over one billion viewers via broadcast as well as another 400 million viewers online. The award recipients were determined based on the votes of 80 million fans, allowing the Chinese public to celebrate their favorite films and thesps.

Don Mischer, the ceremony’s exec producer, is no stranger to the awards show scene, having produced both the Oscars and Emmys in past years. Though bringing the awards to Hollywood posed some challenges, Mischer said this was only the beginning and he looks forward to future collaborations between the world’s two top film markets.

“I view this whole thing as kind of a first step – almost like a baby step,” Mischer said, adding, “There’s much more of a cooperative exchange going on now between the cinematic communities in China and those in the United States… This thing could catch on and it could really build into something more significant because you’ve got the two largest movie markets in the world here.”

Following an introduction by co-hosts Liu and Olivia Xu (who translated the English portions of the ceremony into Chinese), “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam took the stage and was the first to be decorated with a golden sash as he received the best global emerging actor award.

Hunnam said he’d love to shoot a sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” and also explained that, though he’s currently filming the final season of “Sons of Anarchy,” “I really don’t know how it’s all going to play out.”

Del Toro was also recognized with the award for best global director and recalled visiting Hong Kong for the first time when he was 22.

“I thought, ‘One day I’ll put it in a movie,’” del Toro said of his experience in China. The helmer also expressed his interest in maintaining a cinematic partnership with China.

“As long as our partnership is one where we find common ground and we admire and learn from our differences, I think it could be incredibly enriching,” he said.

Del Toro also expressed his gratitude to the “vast and loving” Chinese audience, saying, “A film for a filmmaker is like a child. So it’s 80 million people saying they like my child.”

DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was on hand to accept the best global animated film honors on behalf of “The Croods,” and discussed the studio’s entertainment complex to be built in Shanghai as well as the third installment of the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, slated to premiere in December 2015.

Though she didn’t talk to the press, Berry did say a few words upon receiving her global icon award, calling to mind her visit to Shanghai a few years ago and the warm welcome she received from Chinese fans.

“I felt like I was an original Beatle when I got off that airplane,” Berry said. “I hope that I will continue to be able to make movies and entertain the Chinese audience and I’m so glad that we get to have an interpersonal relationship with all of you.”

Lifetime achievement honoree and Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer also kept his comments brief, but suggested, “Let’s call it the getting started award” when discussing his prize.

Orlando Bloom was honored with the global actor icon award and the British thesp expressed how “humbled” he felt, explaining, “I never thought I’d make films all over the world.”

Jeremy Renner was voted best global supporting actor, but thanked his Chinese fans via video message as he was unable to attend.

Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson accepted the final award on behalf of Universal’s “Fast and Furious 6,” voted best global movie of the year. Both actors noted a change in the atmosphere on the set of the franchise’s seventh film following the death of co-star Paul Walker.

“It’s really hard for all of us to genuinely celebrate on the level that we all should be expected to because we didn’t do any of this without our brother and friend Paul Walker,” Gibson said. “Moments like this become bittersweet.”

The evening also featured three exclusive performances by “America’s Best Dance Crew” winners Jabbawockeez, martial artists the Shaolin Warriors and Summer Jikejunyi, winner of “The Voice” China.

[GeneChing]

14th Chinese Film Media Awards

Drug War tops China Media Awards

By Kevin Ma
Mon, 13 October 2014, 11:30 AM (HKT)
Awards News

Johnnie TO 's Drug War (2012), WONG Kar-wai 's The Grandmaster and Anthony CHEN 's Ilo Ilo were the top winners of the 14th Chinese Film Media Awards, each winning two awards. This year’s ceremony was held in Beijing.

Nominated for a total of four prizes, Drug War picked up Best Film and Best Director for To. This is his third Best Director award, following PTU (2003) and Life Without Principle (2011).

Chen’s Ilo Ilo won the Best Screenplay award and the Best Supporting Actress award for YEO Yann Yann . Yeo also won the Best Supporting Actress prize at last year’s Golden Horse Awards for her performance in the domestic drama.

Wong’s The Grandmaster, which tied Ilo Ilo with six nominations, received two acting awards: Best Actress for ZHANG Ziyi and Best Supporting Actor for WANG Qingxiang . This is Zhang’s 12th Best Actress award for the film.

Nick CHEUNG won the Best Actor award for Unbeatable . HAO Jie won the Best New Director award for The Love Songs of Tiedan (2012). KUO Shu-yao won Best New Actor for Step Back to Glory .

Finding Mr. Right won the Audience Prize for Best Film. The five nominees in the category – also including American Dreams in China , So Young , Tiny Times 1 and Firestorm – were not nominated for Best Film in the main competition.

Organised by Southern Metropolis Daily, the Chinese Film Media Awards considers any Chinese-language film that received theatrical distribution in Mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan between 1 Jan and 31 Dec the previous year.

The members of this year’s jury were not announced.

14TH CHINESE FILM MEDIA AWARDS

Best Film: Drug War
Best Director: Johnnie To; Drug War
Best New Director: Hao Jie; The Love Songs of Tiedan
Best Screenplay: Anthony Chen; Ilo Ilo
Best Actor: Nick Cheung; Unbeatable
Best Actress: Zhang Ziyi; The Grandmaster
Best Supporting Actor: Wang Qingxiang; The Grandmaster
Best Supporting Actress: Yeo Yann Yann; Ilo Ilo
Best New Actor: Kuo Shu-yao; Step Back to Glory
Audience Prize, Most Popular Film: Finding Mr. Right
Audience Prize, Most Popular Actor: HUANG Bo ; Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 
Audience Prize, Most Popular Actress: YAO Chen ; Firestorm
Audience Prize, Most Popular Performance: Aarif LEE ; One Night Surprise 
Media Tribute Award for Film of the Year: No Man's Land 
Media Tribute Award for Film Professional of the Year: Bill KONG 

Here’s our related threads:
Grandmaster
Unbeatable-
Stephan-Chow-s-Journey-to-the-West-Conquering-Demons

We don’t have a Drug War thread, but here are my thoughts on that flick:
If you haven’t tuned into director Johnny To, he’s like the John Woo for this decade. He’s the new master of Chinese gangster flicks. Only instead of balletic gunplay and ****erotic undertones, To is more about visceral firefights and gritty sociopaths. DW is his latest, a tale of undercover narcs, meth makers and stool pigeons (heavy emphasis on stool as there is an inordinate amount of defecating in this film). It captures the seedy side of Mainland China, and Louis Koo is particularly oily. The plot moves along briskly and sustains a fair level of tension, but it’s really all about the gunplay. There are two big firefights, one in the middle and the finale, and that’s the payout. The final battle is very satisfying.
However, Drug War is no Exiled (2006). That’s To’s gangster masterpiece. The first scene is brilliant filmmaking in every way - the tension, the mood set by the environment, the interaction/introduction of the characters and the way it explodes when the time comes. And Exiled maintains that artistic and storytelling integrity through the whole film. It’s truly a great film - one of the best Triad films ever.

[Stickgrappler]

Jimmy Wang Yu to receive Lifetime Achievement Award today!

Jimmy Wang Yu to receive Lifetime Achievement Award today!

Congratulations to Wang Yu!

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/jimmy-wang-yu-to-receive-lifetime.html

Made my first animated GIF set from Master of the Flying Guillotine in honor of Jimmy Wang Yu receiving the Award later today. Count ‘em … 10 GIFs! More GIF Sets to come.

Enjoy 7 more GIFs here:

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/master-of-flying-guillotine-gif-set-1.html

[Stickgrappler]

2nd set of GIFs I made

Enjoy 3 more GIFs’ here:

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/2nd-gif-set-master-of-flying-guillotine.html

[GeneChing]

Asian Film Awards

China dominates Asian Film Awards

By Kevin Ma

Thu, 26 March 2015, 09:15 AM (HKT)
Awards News

China was the star of this year’s Asian Film Awards , winning ten out of fourteen categories, including Best Picture for LOU Ye 's Blind Massage .

JIANG Wen 's Gone with the Bullets took the most awards of the evening, with wins in three of the four categories for which it was nominated.

Blind Massage (pictured), DIAO Yi’nan 's Black Coal, Thin Ice and Ann HUI 's The Golden Era each won two prizes.

Also the winner of Best Picture at November’s Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Blind Massage also took its second Asian Film Award for ZENG Jian 's cinematography.

Two years ago, Lou’s Mystery (2012) won Best Picture and Best Screenwriter awards at the Asian Film Awards.

Also echoing the results of the Golden Horse Awards, Hui won the Best Director award for biographical drama The Golden Era. WANG Zhiwen also won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of writer Lu Xun in the film.

Nominees from other nations largely went home empty-handed, as Japan, South Korea, India and Indonesia won just one award each.

In arguably the night’s most competitive category, South Korea’s BAE Du-na | won Best Actress for drama A Girl at My Door . It was Bae’s second AFA nomination.

The Best Supporting Actress prize went to IKEWAKI Chizuru for gritty romance drama The Light Shines Only There .

As previously announced, Japanese actress NAKATANI Miki received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award and IM Kwon-taek | received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

This is the second year that the AFA has been held in Macau. This year’s ceremony was moved from the City of Dreams Resort to the Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Macao, just across the street.

Last year, the award became part of the Asian Film Awards Academy, a joint project between the Hong Kong International Film Festival , Busan International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival .

2015 ASIAN FILM AWARDS

Best Film: Blind Massage [China]
Best Director: Ann Hui – The Golden Era [Hong Kong/China]
Best Actor: Liao Fan – Black Coal, Thin Ice [Hong Kong/China]
Best Actress: Bae Du-na – A Girl at My Door [South Korea]
Best Newcomer: ZHANG Huiwen  – Coming Home  [China]
Best Supporting Actor: Wang Zhiwen – The Golden Era [Hong Kong/China]
Best Supporting Actress: Ikewaki Chizuru – The Light Shines Only There [Japan]
Best Screenwriter: Diao Yi'nan – Black Coal, Thin Ice [China]
Best Cinematographer: Zeng Jian – Blind Massage [China]
Best Production Designer: LIU Qing  — Gone With the Bullets [China]
Best Composer: Mikey McCleary — Margarita, With a Straw [India]
Best Editor: Gareth EVANS – The Raid 2 The Raid 2: Berandal [Indonesia]
Best Visual Effects – Rick SANDER, Christoph ZOLLINGER – Gone with the Bullets [China]
Best Costume Designer: William CHANG  — Gone With the Bullets [China]

I think we only discussed two of these films here: Gone With the Bullets & The Raid 2: Berandal

[GeneChing]

18th Shanghai International Film Festival

That’s a weird pick of Donnie and Iron Mike. Makes me think they should have been cast for the Rush Hour TV series.

Jackie Chan, Mike Tyson help kick off Shanghai Film Festival
18th Shanghai International Film Festival - Opening Ceremony & Red Carpet

Mike Tyson, left, and Donnie Yen pose for a picture on the red carpet at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 13, 2015, in Shanghai. (Kevin Lee / Getty Images)

By Julie Makinen

A disease outbreak in South Korea and a film removed by censors dampen opening of Shanghai film festival

Jackie Chan, Mike Tyson and Fan Bingbing walked the red carpet Saturday night as a somewhat subdued Shanghai International Film Festival got underway in China’s bustling commercial capital.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai on June 13, 2015. (Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty Images)

Concerns about the outbreak of MERS in South Korea and the removal of a Japanese film at the behest of Chinese government censors put a bit of a damper on the 18th annual event, which for years was the only substantial film festival in China until Beijing launched its own festival in 2011. Both events are under government control, but authorities seem to be pouring significant resources into raising the profile of the Beijing affair, which is held in April.

Festival organizers sent emails to some expected participants from South Korea, suggesting that they stay home; at the registration desk, South Korean attendees were asked to fill out a health history form.

In the lobby of Shanghai Movie City, a movie complex that is one of the central film venues, large printed screening schedules still carried the title “Attack on Titan,” but ticket sellers said the animated Japanese film had indeed been pulled from the lineup and replaced with another Japanese movie. The film was among 38 foreign animated properties deemed excessively violent or pornographic earlier this week by China’s Ministry of Culture.

Unlike last year, when “Transformers: Age of Extinction” closed out the Shanghai festival, this year’s lineup includes no Hollywood blockbusters, though Antoine Fuqua’s long-in-the-works boxing drama “Southpaw,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is having its world premiere at the festival.

Jackie Chan poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai on June 13, 2015. (Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty Images)

The film, which is competing for the Golden Goblet award, centers on a lefthanded junior-middleweight champ (Gyllenhaal) whose is sent into a spiral by a tragic accident. With the help of a washed-up former boxer (Forest Whitaker), he starts to fight his way back to personal and professional redemption.

The opening film was the somewhat saccharine “I Am Somebody,” directed by Derek Tung-Sing Yee, about Chinese movie extras trying to make a go of it on the studio lots in Hengdian, a major movie film center not far from Shanghai.

The closing night film on June 21 will be the China-Russia co-production “Ballet in the Flames of War,” directed by China’s Yachun Dong and Russia’s Nikita Mikhalkov. Organizers said the movie “highlights the friendship between China and Russia through a love story unfolding in the midst of World War II.”

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, known in China as the War to Resist Japanese Aggression, and the festival has programmed a special section of films devoted to this theme, including “Casablanca,” German director Volker Schlondorff’s “The Tin Drum” and Andre Singer’s Holocaust documentary “Night Will Fall.”

The Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose “Leviathan” was nominated for the foreign language Oscar this year, is heading up this year’s jury for the Golden Goblet award.

The festival offers cinema-goers the chance to see a number of American films that were never imported into theaters in China, which restricts the number of foreign films that can enter the market each year. Among some of the U.S. films screening are “Whiplash” and “Birdman.” Former boxer Mike Tyson is attending the festival not because he has an American film in the festival but because he has a guest part in the upcoming Chinese movie “Ip Man 3.” DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg also attended the event.

This year, the Shanghai fest will offer fans the chance to see all six films in the “Star Wars” series, a first for the mainland. “Jackie Chan Action Movie Week” is expected to draw a number of international filmmakers, including Renny Harlin and Brett Ratner for a series of forums and screenings that organizers said “will leverage the prestige of Jackie Chan in the world of action movies, highlight Chinese culture reflected in action movies, and pool together worldwide resources in support of the globalization of Chinese films and culture.”

[Jimbo]

Because it was pulled rom the lineup, I now really want to see “Attack on Titan”. IMO, the reasons they pull non-Chinese movies or ‘edit’ them for content is ridiculous. It creates an environment of movies with no edgy content.

[GeneChing]

Asian Film Awards

It’s still all about the Assassin there, with a nod to Ip Man 3.

Asian Film Awards: ‘The Assassin’ leads with Nine Nominations

‘The Assassin’
Well Go USA

by Karen Chu 2/3/2016 4:43am PST
'Mountains May Depart, ‘Veteran’ and ‘Mr. Six’ each received four nominations.

While it may have missed out on an Oscar foreign-language nomination, The Assassin has emerged as frontrunner at the Asian Film Awards. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s martial-arts film picked up nine nominations, followed by Mountains May Depart, Veteran and Mr. Six, each with four.

The Assassin was nominated in the best film, director, actress, supporting actress, cinematography, original music, costume design, production design, and sound categories. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

The best film race consists of The Assassin, Chinese co-production Mountains May Depart, India’s Bajirao Mastani, Japan’s Three Stories of Love, China’s Mr. Six, and South Korea’s Veteran.

Donnie Yen of Hong Kong box office hit Ip Man 3 is nominated for a best actor gong, with Nagase Masatoshi of Japan’s An, Feng Xiaogang of China’s Mr. Six, Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea’s Inside Men, and John Arcilla of The Philippine’s Heneral Luna also in contention.

The best actress category is a contest between Zhao Tao of Mountains May Depart, Shu Qi of The Assassin, Ayase Haruka of Japan’s Our Little Sister, Kim Hye-soo of South Korea’s Coin Locker Girl, and Karena Lam of Taiwan’s Zinnia Flower.

The nominations included thirty-six films from nine countries. Twenty-two films from China or Chinese co-productions were nominated for awards in fifteen categories, followed by sixteen from Japan.

A new category, best sound, was introduced this year.

The fifteen-member jury will be presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To this year, with jury members including Hong Kong actor Sean Lau and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan.

Marking the tenth edition of the Asian Film Awards, organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the awards ceremony will be held on March 17 at the Venetian Theater in Macau.

Asian Film Awards Nominations

Best Film

Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, China)

The Assassin (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan)

Bajirao Mastani (India)

Three Stories of Love (Japan)

Mr. Six (China)

Veteran (South Korea)

Best Director

Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin

Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Our Little Sister

Guan Hu, Mr. Six

Ryoo Seung-wan, Veteran

Best Actor

Donnie Yen, Ip Man 3

Nagase Masatoshi, An

Feng Xiao-gang, Mr. Six

Lee Byung-Hun, Inside Men

John Arcilla, Heneral Luna

Best Actress

Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart

Shu Qi, The Assassin

Ayase Haruka, Our Little Sister

Kim Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl

Karena Lam, Zinnia Flower

Best Supporting Actor

Max Zhang, Ip Man 3

Michael Ning, Port of Call

Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore

Oh Dal-soo, Assassination

Cheng Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk

Best Supporting Actress

Zhuo Yun, The Assassin

Tsuchiya Anna, Gonin Saga

Cherry Ngan, Mojin – The Lost Legend

Ueno Juri, The Beauty Inside

Park So-dam, The Priests

[GeneChing]

40th Hong Kong International Film Festival

The way that caption is positioned, it makes Chuck look like he is William Shakespeare…

William Shakespeare, Bruce Lee to Be Honored at Hong Kong Festival
Variety By Patrick Frater
February 5, 2016 7:03 AM

William Shakespeare and Bruce Lee are both to be honored at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival (March 21-April 4, 2016).

Marking the festival’s 40th edition and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the HKIFF will program three vastly different film interpretations of Shakespeare’s stage play “Macbeth.” The trio are Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood,” Roman Polanski’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and last year’s “Macbeth” by star Australian director Justin Kurzel.

“’Macbeth’ has challenged filmmakers around the world as they have reimagined the interplay of fate and magic, human motivations and soul-wrenching questions of loyalty and destiny. Yet, the violence at the heart of the play, with battles, beheadings and assassinations, also imposes demands on actors and audiences as powerful as the poetry of the Bard’s composition,” the festival said in a note.

The festival will also present additional films based on Shakespeare’s plays in its off-season Cine Fan April/May program.

(Separately, it was announced that the Shanghai International Film festival in June will also pay tribute to Shakespeare. It did not divulge its lineup, though it said that British actor Ian McKellen will attend.)

Reviving a local legend, the HKIFF will also present restored, digital versions of four Bruce Lee-starring films. It will screen Lee’s 1971 Hong Kong homecoming “The Big Boss”; nunchaku-wielding 1972 epic “The Fist of Fury”; “The Way of the Dragon,” which Lee also directed; and “The Game of Death,” the 1978 movie assembled and released five years after Lee’s death.

[GeneChing]

HKIFF honors Bruce

When Bruce Lee Left Hollywood to Become ‘The Big Boss’
8:33 AM PDT 3/14/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

Photofest

Exactly why Hong Kong has declined to tap Lee’s enduring star power to serve as one of the city’s icons is still the subject of some debate.

For decades, Hong Kong movie buffs have been perplexed by their city’s neglect of its most famous native son: Bruce Lee.

Hong Kong has no Bruce Lee museum, no Bruce Lee Boulevard, not even a proper Bruce Lee memorial. The city’s Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, features a lone statue of the star, but its erection was the result of a global fan initiative, not the local government’s largesse.

In 2011, the owner of Lee’s former mansion in Kowloon Tong offered to donate the home to the city so that it could be made into a commemorative museum, but the project fizzled within the city bureaucracy.

Exactly why Hong Kong has declined to tap Lee’s enduring star power to serve as one of the city’s icons is still the subject of some debate — most suggest that the local elders never viewed Lee as a true native, given that he was born to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, USA (even though he returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old and grew up there until he returned to California at age 18).

But this year, for its part, HKIFF is taking steps to right the oversight. The 40th edition of the fest is honoring Lee with screenings of restored, digital versions of four classic Bruce Lee kung fu flicks, beginning with The Big Boss, the film that brought him back to Hong Kong and launched him into superstardom.

In 1971, having grown frustrated with the side parts and choreography work he was getting in Los Angeles, Lee returned to Hong Kong on the advice of producer Fred Weintraub to make a feature film that would showcase his skills for executives in Hollywood. After signing a two-picture deal with Golden Harvest, Lee played his first leading role in director Lo Wei’s The Big Boss opposite James Tien, already a big star in Hong Kong.

Lee’s charisma and fighting style made the film a phenomenon, and it soon became the highest-grossing picture in Hong Kong history, not to be surpassed until the release of Lee’s second Golden Harvest vehicle, Fist of Fury (1972).

The global success of these movies had the intended effect: in 1972, Warner Brothers offered Lee the lead role in Enter the Dragon, the first Chinese film to be produced by a major Hollywood studio. Tragically, this artistic and entertainment industry milestone would be Lee’s last onscreen appearance before his mysterious and untimely death on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32.

Finally. Took them long enough. :rolleyes:

[Jimbo]

[QUOTE=GeneChing;1292014]Finally. Took them long enough. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Gene, I suspect that it may have to do with the city of HK possibly being ashamed that the most famous person from HK was a MAist. In my observation, if BL had been a famous pianist, violinist, conductor, business mogul, etc., he most likely would have been recognized decades ago. “Kung Fu” or MA is probably considered too coarse or lowly a pursuit to receive a high honor by HK’s bureaucrats.

[GeneChing]

Asian Film Awards

Still all about the Assassin…

Asian Film Awards: ‘The Assassin’ Dominates with Eight Awards
7:30 PM PDT 3/17/2016 by Karen Chu

‘The Assassin’
Courtesy of Wild Bunch

The Hou Hsiao-hsien-directed film won the biggest prizes including best film, best director, best actress for Shu Qi and best supporting actress for Zhou Yun.

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin dominated the 10th Asian Film Awards on Thursday, winning eight out of 15 categories.

The period thriller took top honors for film, director, actress (Shu Qi), supporting actress (Zhou Yun), cinematography, original music, production design and sound.

Hou was not at the award ceremony to accept the accolades in person; the best film and director awards were accepted by cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing on the helmer’s behalf.

South Korea’s Lee Byung-hun was named best actor for his role of a political henchman in Inside Men, while Japan’s Asano Tadanobu took home the best supporting actor prize for his work in Journey to the Shore.

The best newcomer award went to Jessie Li of Port of Call, the Hong Kong film that also earned best editing honors.

The Asian Film Awards, held at the Venetian Macao in Macau, gave out two lifetime achievement awards: one to Japan veteran actress Kiki Kirin (Chronicles of My Mother, An) and another to Hong Kong master of action choreography Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix Trilogy, The Grandmaster).

Full list of winners:

Best film: The Assassin
Best director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Assassin
Best actor: Lee Byung-hun, Inside Men
Best actress: Shu Qi, The Assassin
Best supporting actor: Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore
Best supporting actress: Zhou Yun, The Assassin
Best newcomer: Jessie Li, Port of Call
Best screenplay: Jia Zhangke, Mountains May Depart
Best editing: Port of Call
Best cinematography: The Assassin
Best original music: The Assassin
Best costume design: The Throne
Best production design: The Assassin
Best visual effects: Bajirao Mastani
Best sound: The Assassin

[GeneChing]

Ratner at BIFF

Brett Ratner to Chair Beijing Film Festival Competition Jury
7:18 PM PDT 4/6/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

Brett Ratner
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Joining Ratner on the jury are Hong Kong director Teddy Chan, Germany’s Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Japanese filmmaker Yojiro Takita.

Producer-director Brett Ratner will head the competition jury of the 6th Beijing International Film Festival, set to run April 16-23 in the Chinese capital.

The Revenant, which Ratner produced and co-financed via his RatPac Entertainment production company, is currently taking its final victory lap in the mainland Chinese market, where it has grossed nearly $60 million, far exceeding early expectations.

Joining Ratner on the jury, which awards the festival’s Tiantan Awards across 10 categories, will be Hong Kong director Teddy Chan (Bodyguards and Assassins), German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others), Romanian helmer Corneliu Porumboiu (The Treasure), Japanese director Yojiro Takita (Departures), Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanovic (No Man’s Land) and Chinese actress Xu Qing (Mr. Six).

According to the fest’s organizing committee, 15 out of 433 films from 42 countries and regions have been shortlisted this year for the main competition section.

As previously announced, Natalie Portman will be the highest-profile Hollywood attendee at the event this year. The actress will attend the red-carpet opening ceremony on April 17, followed by her participation in a forum on co-producing films in China and a special screening of her directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, at the China Film Archive.

The fest will open with the world premiere of Beijing Meets Seattle II: Book of Love, directed by Xue Xiaolu and starring Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo.

I’m skeptical of Ratner, especially since he took on the 5 Finger remake.

[GeneChing]

Schamus at BIFF

Producer James Schamus in Beijing: “China Is Becoming the New Hollywood”
2:03 PM PDT 4/17/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

James Schamus

Speaking at the Beijing International Film Festival, the former Focus Features CEO argued that China is leveraging its booming domestic box office to replicate the conditions that made Hollywood so globally successful.

Veteran independent film producer James Schamus rattled and delighted the local crowd on the first day of the Beijing International Film Festival on Sunday, declaring that “China is becoming the new Hollywood.”

The former Focus Features CEO and multi-Oscar nominee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain) participated in a panel discussion about the rapidly evolving nature of Hollywood and Chinese film partnerships.

Schamus began by stating that the common assumption that Hollywood and China are pitched in competition is “already a categorical confusion — because the genius of Hollywood is that it’s not any real place.” Instead, he suggested, Hollywood is a powerful brand that unites a loose collection of corporations and trade groups, which are infused by talent and capital from around the world.

“It’s a shell game,” he said. “The capital in Hollywood has been coming from India, the Gulf States and now from China and some very high-net-worth hedge fund individuals and banks — and it’s been this way for a long time.”

Crucially, Schamus argued, China is beginning to leverage its booming domestic box office to create some of the same conditions that define the allure of the Hollywood brand and sustain its success.

“China is leveraging every aspect of the cinematic sphere, and that leverage is centered on the rise of the theatrical box office,” he said. “The key difference between doing a co-production with China and doing one with Italy or any other country is that the co-production here will open up the theatrical marketplace in a more lucrative way.”

The effects can been seen in the way international film companies are scrambling to set up joint ventures with Chinese partners, and top global talent are expressing growing interest in the creative possibilities that the Chinese market will make possible. Last month, for example, Warner Bros.’ new Chinese joint venture Flagship Entertainment unveiled a 12-film slate of Chinese-language films, and Joe and Anthony Russo, the director duo behind Marvel’s Captain America franchise, announced a project to produce established and aspiring Chinese directors.

Yu Dong, chairman and founder of Bona Film Group, one of China’s top studios and a co-financier of six films from Fox, echoed Schamus’ sentiments by laying out some of the demographic fundamentals that are driving change within China.

“The Chinese market has room to grow by 5,000 to 7,000 movie screens every year for at least 10 more years,” Yu said, adding, “If this continues, we will more than double the number of screens in North America within the decade.” (North America had 40,000 screens at the end of 2015 and China had 39,000).

The executive noted that China’s box office is expected to surpass North America to become the world’s largest single film theatrical territory in the next one to two years — he said China eventually doubling North American box was probably a certainty, and tripling it was conceivable.

Yu also explained that the screen construction that has yet to come in China will take place in increasingly provincial parts of the country, where audiences are more interested, generally, in domestic Chinese movies than foreign imports — a fact that explains Hollywood’s recent declining market share against local Chinese pictures. Meanwhile, Hollywood is “producing more sequels and super hero pictures to reduce risks, but these are remote from Chinese people’s daily lives,” he said.

“The Chinese inland market is more interested in our local creations, so this will change the picture for both industries,” Yu further argued, before adding: “The young directors in Hollywood who don’t get their support form the big bosses making the superhero pictures, many will come to China to take advantage of the opportunities here.”

Schamus, whose production company Symbolic Exchange has a strategic agreement with China’s Meridian Entertainment, proposed that the slate investments Chinese studios have made in U.S. film companies — recently, China’s Perfect World Pictures invested $250 million into Universal and Huangzhou-based Film Carnival poured $500 million to **** Cook Productions — are laying the groundwork for Hollywood-like global reach.

“The fact that the new screens are going to be coming into tier four and five cities means a decisive change at the base of the audience for a whole new generation of Chinese filmmakers, while at the same time you are layering on top an international and global business,” Schamus said.

The Chinese hosts of the event noted on several occasions that Schamus co-wrote Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which remains the highest grossing non-English-language film ever in North America. As a writer, Schamus added that he objects to the common industry contention that the Chinese film community will need Hollywood’s help with story development if it wants to achieve the same level of success in tapping international box offices.

“There’s a lot of pride and intensity now in the Chinese film business, but there’s still a sense that the storytelling is not up to par and that you need help,” he said. “I think that’s not true. It’s just a different sensibility and that’s what’s exciting. There’s no secret sauce that Hollywood screenwriters have — we just got to the market a little sooner, but that’s all going to change.”

This is what I’ve been saying with my Chollywood Rising column for years now. If only I could have cashed in on it better…:o

[GeneChing]

Golden Screen Awards

A new ceremony for movie execs to pat each other on the back.

U.S. China Film & TV Industry Expo to Launch Golden Screen Awards
12:49 AM PDT 4/21/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

Getty Images

The new awards gala, held during the U.S.-China industry conference in November, will honor film professionals and companies for excellence in co-productions and international relations.

The 2016 U.S. China Film & TV Industry Expo (UCFTI), held in Los Angeles on Nov. 2-3, will debut the first edition of the Golden Screen Awards, a special gala honoring individuals and companies for excellence in film co-productions and international relations.

The inaugural awards event was announced at a press conference during the Beijing International Film Festival Tuesday.

Launched in Los Angeles in 2013, UCFTI is an annual exchange platform designed to foster business ties between the Chinese and U.S. film and TV industries — which comprise the world’s two largest entertainment markets. The event is co-sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America, China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter.

READ MORE How James Cameron’s Four ‘Avatar’ Sequels Plan Is Going Over in China
“The UCFTI Expo is emblematic of the blending between the U.S. and Chinese film and television industries,” said John Amato, president of Entertainment Group, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. "We are pleased to help bring together industry leaders from the two giants of entertainment, facilitating the mutually beneficial deals that will reach across borders and shape our entertainment for years to come,” he added.

This year’s UCFTI Expo will culminate with “China Night,” a VIP party held on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles, bringing together power players from the Chinese and U.S. industries.

Said Bianca Chen, founder and CEO of UCFTI Expo: “With more and more industry insiders becoming familiar with the UCFTI Expo, we believe in the next several years, we will make even more excellent co-productions to propel the trade, exchange, training and cooperation of the two countries’ film and TV industries.”

[GeneChing]

Tiff 2016

I cherry-picked the significant titles of figures mentioned here. Follow the link if you want the full line up.

Toronto Film Festival 2016: Magnificent Seven, La La Land to screen
Slate also includes new Christopher Guest ensemble ‘Mascots,’ Justin Timberlake’s ‘JT + the Tennessee Kids’
BY JOEY NOLFI • @JOEYNOLFI

Posted July 26 2016 — 11:24 AM EDT

The first round of films playing at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival have been announced, with Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven set to kick off the event with a western-infused bang on Sept 8.

Fuqua’s opening night film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Byung-hun Lee in a tale of seven outlaws recruited by a local woman (Haley Bennett) to do battle with an oppressive industrialist (Peter Sarsgaard) encroaching upon her hometown’s territory.

Other titles screening at this year’s festival include Christopher Guest’s new ensemble comedy, Mascots, in addition to Damien Chazelle’s Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone musical La La Land, Werner Herzog’s Salt and Fire, Ewan McGregor’s American Pastoral, and Nocturnal Animals, Tom Ford’s directorial follow-up to A Single Man.

This year’s star-studded Gala slate features Amy Adams’ Arrival, Mark Wahlberg’s Deepwater Horizon, Ruth Negga’s Cannes drama Loving, the Lyndon B. Johnson biopic LBJ, Nicole Kidman’s Lion, and the Lupita Nyong’o-starring Queen of Katwe, among others.

Closing the annual event’s 2016 edition is The Edge of Seventeen, Kelly Fremon Craig’s directorial debut revolving around the angsty life of a teenage girl (Hailee Steinfeld) grappling with the awkwardness of growing up as her best friend falls in for her popular older brother. The film also stars Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick.

TIFF spearheads a four-pronged dive into awards season on the festival front as it, along with events in Telluride, Venice, and New York, plays an important part in facilitating the rise of emerging Oscar contenders. As a key precursor in the awards race, all eyes will be on TIFF’s full lineup, which often hosts high-profile premieres of Oscar-bound films, and is set to be revealed in installments in the coming weeks.

As a time-tested launching pad for awards hopefuls, the largely non-competitive festival’s only major accolade is bestowed by festivalgoers themselves, as the TIFF People’s Choice Award is voted on by the public, not a curated jury of industry professionals. Since 2008, seven of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award winners have gone on to either win or be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, including Silver Linings Playbook, 12 Years a Slave, and Precious. Last year’s champion, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, scored four Academy Award nominations, with star Brie Larson winning in the Best Actress category.

The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 8-18. Additional titles playing at the festival will be announced soon. Check out the just-announced list of Special Presentation and Gala titles playing at TIFF 2016 below.

GALAS:

The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua, USA - World Premiere
Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a 1960 western classic. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Birth of the Dragon George Nolfi, USA/China/Canada - World Premiere
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1964, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial- arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with Shaolin master Wong Jack Man. While details of the fight are hotly disputed to this day, one thing is clear — out of that epic fight, Bruce Lee emerged as The Dragon, the man who brought Kung Fu to the world. Starring Billy Magnussen, Xia Yu, and Philip Ng.

The Handmaiden (Agassi) Park Chan-wook, South Korea - North American Premiere
A crook-turned-servant falls for the vulnerable heiress she had originally schemed to swindle, in this audacious, visually sumptuous, and highly erotic period piece from writer-director Park Chan-wook. Starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Hae-sook, and Moon So-ri.

The Wasted Times (Luo Man Di Ke Xiao Wang Shi) Cheng Er, China - World Premiere
Love, hatred, and betrayal abound in Shanghai during the chaotic, war-torn 1930s. Mr. Lu is ambushed during an important meeting with the Japanese army, but his sister’s husband, Watabe, sacrifices himself to save Mr. Lu. Worse still, the Japanese brutally murder Mr. Lu’s children and sister. To avenge their deaths, Mr. Lu’s mistress attempts to kill the culprit but ends up dead. Years later as the Sino- Japanese war comes to a close, Mr. Lu visits Mrs. Wang, the abandoned wife of his former boss who reveals an astonishing truth about the tragedy. Cast includes Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, and Tadanobu Asano.

[GeneChing]

Time for SDAFF 2016

San Diego Asian Film Festival 2016: An Old Game, a New Reign and a Hall of Fame by Craig Reid

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards
San Diego Asian Film Festival

[GeneChing]

Will Xuanzang make the Oscar cut?

If Hollywood really wants to pander to China it will…I mean, come on. Skiptrace? :rolleyes:

China’s Oscar Selection ‘Xuanzang’ Wins Big at Inaugural Golden Screen Awards
6:43 PM PDT 11/4/2016 by Valerie Zhou

John Li
Rob Schneider

The ceremony, presented by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo, honored the period epic in five categories, including best co-production.
The inaugural Golden Screen Awards, which specifically focuses on co-productions between the U.S. and China, took place Thursday at L.A. Live. Held by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo in partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter, Xuanzang was the biggest winner, receiving best co-production film, director, cinematography, actor and production design honors.

The film, which depicts the perilous journey of the legendary Chinese monk who brought Buddhism from India to China, is the latter country’s official Academy Award foreign-language submission this year. “This is a great opportunity for us," said director Huo Jianqi, "but I don’t think too much about the result, as long as this film can spread the spirit of Xuanzang.”

Paula Patton, who starred in the U.S.-China co-production film Warcraft, attended the ceremony, which was hosted by Rob Schneider.

“It’s great to be in Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world. Hollywood is proud to be an equal-opportunity spender of other people’s money,” joked Schneider in his edgy remarks. “First we took money from Germany, then from France. Then we raped Japan pretty good. Now we are delighted to take China. Bend them over, for as much money as we could steal from them.”

Other films receiving awards included Three, Mountain Cry, Skiptrace and Kung Fu Panda 3.

A complete list of winners follows:

Best Co-Production Film

Da Tang Xuan Zang

Best Director

Huo Jianqi (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Screenplay

Yau Nai Hoi / Lau HoLeung / Mark Tinshu (Three)

Best Cinematography

Su Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Actor

Huang Xiaoming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Actress

Lang Yueting (Mountain Cry)

Best Supporting Actor

Eric Tsang (Skiptrace)

Best Supporting Actress

Fan Bingbing (Skiptrace)

Best Production Design

Wu Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Animation

Kung Fu Panda 3