Calling all Asian cinephiles: 2010 Asian Film Awards only weeks away!

It‘s safe to say that 2009 was a satisfying year for film in Asia. We gasped at superheroes, cried in angst over injustices, overthrew governments, solved personal truths and uncovered lies, all from the safety that the other side of the screen provides. Yes, it was such singular year for Asian cinema, full of breakthroughs and originality, that it seems that picking just a select few films to recognize would be practically impossible. But the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society has done just that and on March 22nd 2010, they will hand out honors at the Asian Film Awards taking place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The AFAs are a fairly new addition to the HK Film Festival, with its inaugural run taking place in 2007. This year’s will be only the 4th annual AFAs but judging from the list of nominees, they have the selection process down to a perfect science. Many of the films that are raved over in out forums are mentioned as well as some that have been overlooked. The countries are nicely represented with entries from Malaysia, Iran, and Vietnam making the cut this year. Highlights: AMP favorite Yatterman is competing for a production award with the several times nominated Thirst, and the wonderful Du-na Bae is nominated for her outstanding turn in Air Doll. Another AMP favourite City of Life and Death is also competing once again for Best Film.

This year the AFAs have about 35 movies nominated in 14 categories (including the new Best Costume Design) The jury is comprised of 14 various accomplished film aficionados and they range from the director of the Cannes Film Festival to the head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Check out the list of nominees below and place your bets!

Best Film

* “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* “City of Life and Death” (China)
* “Lola” (Philippines)
* “Mother” (South Korea)
* “No puedo vivir sin ti” (Taiwan)
* “Parade” (Japan)

Best Director

* Joon-ho Bong – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Asghar Farhadi – “About Elly” (Iran)
* Chuan Lu – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Brillante Mendoza – “Lola” (Philippines)
* Sion Sono – “Love Exposure” (Japan)
* Yonfan – “Prince of Tears” (Taiwan)

Best Actor

* Tadanobu Asano – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Bo Huang – “Cow” (China)
* Hitoshi Matsumoto – “Symbol” (Japan)
* Kang-ho Song – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Xueqi Wang – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)

Best Actress

* Du-na Bae – “Air Doll” (Japan)
* Hye-ja Kim – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Bingbing Li – “The Message” (China)
* Takako Matsu – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Yung-yung Chang – “Yang Yang” (Taiwan)

Best Newcomer

* Sonam Kapoor – “Delhi 6″ (India)
* Se-ron Kim – “A Brand New Life” (South Korea)
* Yuchun Li – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Jane Ng Meng Hui – “At the End of Daybreak” (Malaysia / HK/S.Korea)
* Oceane Zhu – “Prince of Tears” (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actor

* Eita – “Dear Doctor” (Japan)
* Xiaoming Huang – “The Message” (China)
* Chung Hua Tou “The Warrior And The Wolf” (China)
* Nicholas Tse – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Won Bin – “Mother” (South Korea)

Best Supporting Actress

* Sakura Ando – “A Crowd of Three” (Japan)
* Ryoko Hirosue – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Kkot-bi Kim – “Breathless” (South Korea)
* Kara Hui – “At the End of Daybreak” (Malaysia / Hong Kong / South Korea)
* Ni Yan – “Cow” (China)

Best Screenwriter

* Asghar Farhadi – “About Elly” (Iran)
* Sang-soo Hong – “Like You Know It All” (South Korea)
* Eun-kyo Park – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Dang Di Phan – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Ka-Fai Wai – “Written By” (Hong Kong)

Best Cinematographer

* Yu Cao – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Siu-keung Cheng – “Vengeance” (Hong Kong)
* Chung-hoon Chung – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Quy Tung La – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Jake Pollock – “Yang Yang” (Taiwan)

Best Production Designer

* Yuji Hayashida – “Yatterman” (Japan)
* Alain-Pascal Housiaux / Patrick Dechesne / Tian-Jue Lee – “Face” (Taiwan)
* Kenneth Mak – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Seong-hie Ryu – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Haiying Shi – “The Message” (China)

Best Composer

* Ngoc Dai Hoang – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Yeong-gyu Jang / Byeong-hun Lee – “Running Turtle” (South Korea)
* Tong Liu – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Ta-yu Lo – “Vengeance” (Hong Kong)
* Kazuyoshi Saito – “Fish Story” (Japan)

Best Editor

* Lee Chatametikool – “Karaoke” (Malaysia)
* Chi-leung Kong / Chi-wai Chan – “Overheard” (Hong Kong
* Sae-kyoung Moon – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Serraon Kats – “Lola” (Philippines)
* Hua Tang / Yifan Zhang / Yuan Du – “Crazy Racer” (China)

Best Visual Effects

* Takuya Fujita / Koji Nozaki – “Goemon” (Japan)
* Zhenyu Lei / Jianquan Guo / Fuzhi Zhang – “Crazy Racer” (China)
* Yuen-fai Ng/Chas Chau Chi-shing /Kai-kwan Tam-The Storm Warriors (HK)
* Hiroyuki Seshita – “Symbol” (Japan)
* Zeon-hyung Yi – “Thirst” (South Korea)

Best Costume Design

* Tina Kalivas / Vaughan Alexander – “Goemon” (Japan)
* Christian Lacroix / Anne Dunsford / Chia-Hui Wang – “Face” (Taiwan)
* Dora Ng – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Hyun-sub Shim – “The Sword With No Name” (South Korea)

source: AsianMediaWiki