(SCMP) The unexpected victory of a controversial hit, Ten Years, at last year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, is unlikely to be repeated this year as the nominations were revealed on Tuesday.
Soul Mate, a co-production directed by Tsang Kwok-cheung, son of renowned local actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai, has emerged as the front runner for the city’s equivalent of the Oscars, nominated for 12 awards. Its leading actresses Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun were both nominated for Best Actress.
Crime thriller Cold War 2, the mega-budget sequel to the 2013 best picture winner received 10 nominations, while comedy superstar Stephen Chow Sing-chi showed his enduring popularity with eight nominations for The Mermaid.
Director Yee Tung-shing, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association said the victory of Ten Years was “an emotional result” in response to mainland authorities.
The awards show was not broadcast live on the mainland for the first time last year following the nomination of the dystopian film which painted a grim picture of life in Hong Kong in 2025 under the Chinese rule. Mainland audiences should be able to watch a live broadcast of the show this year as political tensions have eased, Yee added.
Though some nominations this year such as Trivisa and Weeds On Fire were not publicly screened on the mainland, Yee said there was “nothing special” in their content and they would not offend mainland authorities.
Despite the controversy last year, Taiwan-born actress Elaine Jin Yan-ling , who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the 10th time, and is a jury member of the second round of selection, said political factors played no role in her pick of the winners.
“The earnest attitude shown in the film is the most important factor,” she said, adding that low-budget productions could also be strong contestants.
The award winners will be announced on April 9 at a ceremony in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui.
The full list of nominations is as follows:
Best film
Soul Mate, Trivisa, The Mermaid, Weeds on Fire, Cold War 2
Best director
Trivisa, The Mermaid, Soul Mate, Mad World Three,
Best screenplay
The Mermaid, Mad World, Cold War 2, Trivisa, Soul Mate
Best actor
Tony Leung Ka-fai (Cold War 2), Gordon Lam (Trivisa), Francis Ng (Shed Skin Papa), Richie Jen (Trivisa), Shawn Yue (Mad World)
Best actress
Tang Wei (Book of Love []), Zhou Dongyu (Soul Mate), Ma Sichun (Soul Mate), Kara Wai (Happiness), Nina Paw ( Show Me Your Love)
Best supporting actor
Eric Tsang (Mad World), Ng Man-tat (The Menu), Liu Kai-chi (Weeds on Fire), Philip Keung (Trivisa), Paul Chun (Book of Love)
Best supporting actress
Fish Liew (Sisterhood), Janice Man (Cold War 2), Kitty Zhang (The Mermaid), Charmaine Fong (Mad World), Elaine Jin (Mad World)
Best new performer
Jelly Lin (The Mermaid), Tony Wu (Weeds on Fire), Jennifer Yu (Sisterhood), Hedwig Tam (Weeds
on Fire), James Ng (Happiness)
Best cinematography
Cold War 2, Soul Mate, Three, See You Tomorrow , Weeds on Fire
Best film editing
See You Tomorrow, Trivisa, Operation Mekong, Cold War 2, Soul Mate
Best art direction
Sword Master, The Mermaid, Soul Mate, See You Tomorrow, The Monkey King 2
Best costume and make-up design
See You Tomorrow, League of Gods, Soul Mate, Sword Master, The Monkey King 2
Best action choreography
Operation Mekong, Cold War 2, Sword Master, Call of Heroes, The Monkey King 2
Best original film score
Weeds on Fire, See You Tomorrow, Soul Mate, Mad World, Cold War 2
Best original film song
Soul Mate, The Mermaid, Weeds on Fire, Happiness, See You Tomorrow
Best sound design
Sword Master, See You Tomorrow, The Monkey King 2, Cold War 2, Operation Mekong
Best visual effects
The Mermaid, Operation Mekong, Sword Master, Cold War 2, The Monkey King 2
Best new director
Mad World, Soul Mate, Line Walker, Happiness, Weeds on Fire
Best film from China and Taiwan
Godspeed, Chongqing Hot Pot , The Road to Mandalay, Mr Six, I Am Not Madame Bovary
Source: South China Morning Post by Nikki Sun
