‘Lust, Caution,’ ‘The Warlords’ lead Asian Film Awards nominations

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This article was published 17/01/2008 (6804 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HONG KONG – Ang Lee’s spy thriller “Lust, Caution” and Peter Chan’s historical epic “The Warlords” led with six nominations each in the shortlist for the second Asian Film Awards announced Thursday.

Other top contenders include Jiang Wen’s “The Sun Also Rises,” with five nominations. The Japanese movie “I Just Didn’t Do it” and South Korea’s “Secret Sunshine” each had four in the event organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“Lust, Caution,” about the affair between an undercover student activist and the Japanese-allied spy chief in Second World War-era Shanghai, and “The Warlords” are both up for best film and best director.

The lead actors from “Lust, Caution,” Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Tang Wei, also were nominated for top acting awards.

“The Warlords” star Jet Li is also competing for best actor along with South Korean Song Kang-ho from “Secret Sunshine,” who won in the same category last year for the monster thriller “The Host,” and Ryo Kase from “I Just Didn’t Do It,” about a young man fighting sexual harassment charges.

Song’s co-star from “Secret Sunshine,” Jeon Do-yeon, is up for best actress, along with Korean-American actress Kim Yun-jin from the hit U.S. TV. show “Lost” and veteran Chinese actress Joan Chen.

Jeon already won Cannes best actress last year for “Secret Sunshine,” in which she portrays a woman’s mental breakdown after moving to her husband’s hometown following his death in a traffic accident, only to face the kidnapping and murder of her son.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong March 17.

The Hong Kong film festival launched the Asian Film Awards last year in an attempt to add lustre to the event, which is facing growing competition from other film festivals in the region, most notably the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.

The awards ceremony was one of two pan-Asian film awards that debuted last year, along with the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, organized by Australia’s Queensland state government, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, broadcaster CNN and UNESCO.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Chairman Wilfred Wong said the budget for the Asian Film Awards was increased by about one million Hong Kong dollars (US$128,000) from last year to about HK$10 million ($1.3 million) this year.

The Asian Film Awards also added best supporting actor categories this year.

Wong said the budget for the overall Hong Kong Film Festival increased by several million Hong Kong dollars to HK$40 million (US$5 million). For comparison, the Pusan International Film Festival was budgeted at 7.4 billion Korean won ($7.8 million) last year.

Asked about Pusan’s bigger budget, Wong said he welcomed more Hong Kong government funding but that “even though we have less money, we work very efficiently.”

The Hong Kong film festival will run from March 17 to April 6.

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List of nominees for the 2nd Asian Film Awards

HONG KONG – A list of nominees in top categories at the 2nd Asian Film Awards announced Thursday in Hong Kong:

Best film: “Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame” (Iran), “I Just Didn’t Do It” (Japan), “Lust, Caution” (Taiwan-China-United States), “Secret Sunshine” (South Korea), “The Sun Also Rises” (China-Hong Kong), “The Warlords” (China-Hong Kong).

Best director: Peter Chan (“The Warlords”), Jiang Wen (“The Sun Also Rises”), Ang Lee (“Lust, Caution”), Lee Chang-dong (“Secret Sunshine”), Masayuki Suo (“I Just Didn’t Do It”), Zhang Lu (“Desert Dream”).

Best actor: Jack Kao (“God Man Dog”), Ryo Kase (“I Just Didn’t Do It”), Tony Leung Chiu-wai (“Lust, Caution”), Jet Li (“The Warlords”), Song Kang-ho (“Secret Sunshine”), Joe Odagiri (“Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad”).

Best actress: Joan Chen (“The Home Song Stories”), Jeon Do-yeon (“Secret Sunshine”), Kirin Kiki (“Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad”), Kim Yun-jin (“Seven Days”), Deepika Padukone (“Om Shanti Om”), Tang Wei (“Lust, Caution”).