Wong Kar-wai’s martial arts epic The Grandmaster received Oscar nods at the 86th Academy Awards and had the biggest crop of nominations at the 8th Asian Film Awards. It stars some of the greatest names in contemporary Asian cinema, including Zhang Ziyi, the leading actress in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha.
Paying tribute to its stunning aesthetics and mood-setting, which director Wong Kar-wai is so known for with his work on In the Mood For Love and 2046, The Grandmaster swept awards in the categories of cinematography, costume design, production design and composer.
Zhang Ziyi won Best Actress while Wong Kar-wai was awarded Best Director. It was also named Best Film. In both of their acceptance speeches, the MH370 tragedy was mentioned. It was revealed that one of their martial arts stuntman had been a passenger on the Malaysian Airlines flight that went missing on 8 March. Wong Kar-wai dedicated the Best Film award to his team, offering his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. He also called upon the Malaysian government to be more transparent in its clarification of the situation.
List of Winners:
Lifetime Achievement:
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Best Film:
The Grandmaster
Best Director:
Wong Kar-wai, The Grandmaster
Best Actor:
Irrfan Khan, The Lunchbox
Best Actress:
Zhang Ziyi, The Grandmaster
Best Newcomer:
Jiang Shuying, So Young
Best Supporting Actor:
Huang Bo, No Man’s Land
Best supporting actress:
Yeo Yann Yann, Ilo Ilo
Best Screenwriter:
Ritesh Batra, The Lunchbox
Best Cinematographer:
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
Best Production Designer:
William Chang Suk Ping, Alfred Yau Wai Ming, The Grandmaster
Best Composer:
Nathaniel Mechaly, Umebayashi Shigeru, The Grandmaster
Best Editor:
Shin Min-kyung, Cold Eyes
Best Visual Effects:
Jung Sung-jin, Mr Go
Best Costume designer:
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
