Hong Kong – The 11th Asian Film Awards (AFA) is organised by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFA Academy) and for this edition, 73 nominations have been made for 15 awards. The nominations represent 34 films from 12 countries. World-renowned Chinese director Mr JIA Zhangke will serve as this year’s Jury President and lead a jury comprising charismatic celebrity juror Ms Karena LAM Kar-yan, and respected film industry professionals, festival programmers and critics.
Financially supported by Create Hong Kong and Film Development Fund, the 11th Asian Film Awards will return to Hong Kong on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR Government, and will be held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on March 21, 2017.
Over the past year the AFA Academy has collaborated with different countries and regions to educate and nurture the next generation for the movie industry. It has hosted different activities, such as Masterclasses, Asian Cinerama – Film Roadshows, Journey to the Fest – Student Visit to Film Festivals and Young Film Professionals Program. From Hong Kong to different cities and international film festivals including Tokyo, Busan, Hawaii, Kyoto, Chennai, Taipei, Berlin, etc., the Academy endeavours to promote Asian film industry and culture all over the world.
To further advance its activities among young people, the Academy is also honoured to appoint Taiwan actor Mr. CHENG Jen-shou, as “Student Ambassador” for 2017. Winner of the Best Supporting Actor Award of the Taipei Film Festival for his role in Thanatos, Drunk, and Mr Cheng will share his experience in the industry and encourage the next generation to follow their passion.
This year, the AFA received almost 1,600 submissions from 28 countries. The entries were wide-ranging and include period epics, romantic comedies, crime, thriller, monster movies and festival acclaimed works. Entries were considered from established and upcoming filmmakers, with an encouraging diversity and creativity once again showing the growth and richness of the cinemas of the Asian region.
