Celebrating its 16th year, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) has announced the nominees for its 16 award categories ahead of the ceremony, which will take place on March 12, 2023 (Sun).

Returning to Hong Kong after 3 Years!

From Decision to Leave to Broker, EMERGENCY DECLARATION, Alienoid, and The Apartment with Two Women,

Korean Films Nominated for Every Category at AFA16, Proving International Popularity

The Asian Films Awards Academy (AFAA) is an organization jointly established in 2013 by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival for the development of Asian cinema. AFAA has held the Asian Film Awards (AFA) in commemoration and celebration of filmmakers who have cultivated the Asian film industry.

AFA, which was hosted in Busan for the past two years, will return to Hong Kong this year. The 16th Asian Film Awards, which will be on March 12, 2023 (Sun), has shortlisted 81 nominations from 30 films, produced in different 22 regions, to compete for the 16 awards categories.

Source: Google (In alphabetical order)

The nomination of five Korean films by experience, renowned directors to newly emerging directors, Decision to Leave, Broker, EMERGENCY DECLARATION, Alienoid, and The Apartment with Two Women, has caught the public attention. Furthermore, the inclusion of Korean nominees in all 16 award categories for AFA16 has proved the international prominence of Korean films.

Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and more

Decision to Leave Becomes Most Nominated Film with 10 Nominations!

Decision to Leave, which won Best Director at the 75th Cannes Film Festival and became a worldwide syndrome, received the honor of the most nominated film this year with a total of 10 nominations: Best Film, Best Director (PARK Chan-wook), Best Screenplay (CHUNG Seo-kyung, PARK Chan-wook), Best Actor (PARK Hae-il), Best Actress (TANG Wei), Best Cinematography (KIM Ji-yong), Best Editing (KIM Sang-beom), Best Original Music (CHO Young Wuk), Best Production Design (RYU Seong-hie), and Best Sound (KIM Suk-won).

Furthermore, actor IM Si-wan and actress KIM So-jin were nominated for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, with EMERGENCY DECLARATION, an aviation disaster-action film, while actress LEE Ji-eun of Broker, who left a strong impression on the audience with her role, So-young, the mother of the baby in the baby box, has been nominated for the Best Newcomer category.

Director KIM Se-in of The Apartment with Two Women, a film that garnered much attention and received a total of 5 awards, including the New Currents Award, at the 2021 Busan International Film Festival, is garnering much anticipation with the nomination for Best New Director. In addition, the nomination for Best Visual Effects (JUNG Seung-oh) and Best Costume Design (RYU Hyun-min, OH Jung-geun) with Alienoid, which showed a unique cinematic universe, is rousing speculation as to which Korean films will receive the honor of winning the award.

Not One Less, The Great Wall, One Second

Chinese Director ZHANG Yimou Appointed as Jury President

Succeeding director Lee Chang-dong, world-renowned director Zhang Yimou has been appointed as the jury president for the AFA16. Zhang is a two-time Golden Lion winner at Venice International Film Festival, one Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, and has won the Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes Film Festival. His distinguished contribution to Asian films also earned him an Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema at the 4th Asian Film Awards. ZHANG will lead a panel of seven professional judges from around the world to decide on the winners of this year’s awards.

This year’s Asian Film Awards, which will take place on March 12 (Sun) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium in the Hong Kong Palace Museum, will continue to present a variety of special awards to recognize the contribution of talented filmmakers to Asian cinema, including the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award and AFA Rising Star Award, which will be announced later.

Asian Films Awards Academy📣

The Asian Films Awards Academy, a non-profit organization, was founded by Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo International Film Festivals to celebrate excellence in Asian cinema. Aiming to promote and recognize Asian films and their talents, AFAA highlights, strengthens and develops the Asian film industry through the annual Asian Film Awards and several year-round initiatives.