‘Project Gutenberg’ Sweeps Hong Kong Film Awards With 7 Wins

(THR) Banknote forgery drama Project Gutenberg swept the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards, taking home seven statuettes including for best film, cinematography, art direction, costume and makeup design, film editing and director and screenplay for writer-helmer Felix Chong.

Chong, who won the best new director award for Once a Gangster in 2011, is famed for his scriptwriting work with long-time collaborator Alan Mak on Infernal Affairs and he has been nominated nine times in the best screenplay category. Project Gutenberg, which took 13 years to make it to the big screen, marked his third win as screenwriter and the first time he was awarded as the sole writer.

Starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok, Project Gutenberg received 17 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and grossed $187 million in China last year.

Besides Project Gutenberg, this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards recognized the talents of emerging directors. All the acting category award winners, bar best actress, won for performances in films by first-time directors.

Anthony Wong, who has previously been named best actor for his work in films, on television, and on the stage, was crowned best actor for his portrayal of a wheelchair-bound man who needed around-the-clock care in Still Human, the directorial debut of Oliver Chan, who also won best new director at the awards. It was the fifth time Wong has been honored with a Hong Kong Film Award, as he has garnered the best actor accolade for The Untold Story in 1994 and Beast Cops in 1999, and best-supporting actor award for Infernal Affairs in 2003 and Initial D in 2006. Filipino actress-singer Crisel Consunji, who played the domestic worker who looked after Wong’s character in the film, received the best new performer award.

Likewise, the best supporting actor and actress winners shone in a film by a first time director. Acting veterans Kara Wai and Ben Yuen were named best supporting actress and supporting actors, respectively, for their work in transgender drama Tracey by helmer Jun Li. Kara Wai has been presented with five Hong Kong Film Awards before, including the first ever best actress award at the inaugural edition in 1982 for My Young Auntie.

Meanwhile, Chinese actress Chloe Maayan was named best actress for her first starring role, in director Fruit Chan’s Three Husbands, the concluding chapter of his “prostitute trilogy”.

2018 was a difficult year for the Hong Kong film industry, with only 54 homegrown films released. But the bright side was that a third of the films were by new directors.

Both Kara Wai and Anthony Wong spoke about giving fledgling filmmakers a hand in their acceptance speeches. Wai urged her filmmaking colleagues to support new directors for the ongoing survival of the local film industry, while Wong talked about forgoing his paycheck to star in Still Human, which was made with a HK$3.25 million ($418,000) budget under the government-sponsored First Film Initiative.

List of 38th Hong Kong Film Awards Winners

Best Film
Project Gutenberg

Best Director
Felix Chong, Project Gutenberg

Best Actor
Anthony Wong, Still Human

Best Actress
Chloe Maayan, Three Husbands

Best Supporting Actor
Ben Yuen, Tracey

Best Supporting Actress
Kara Wai, Tracey

Best New Performer
Crisel Consunji, Still Human

Best New Director
Oliver Chan, Still Human

Best Screenplay
Project Gutenberg

Best Cinematography
Project Gutenberg

Best Art Direction
Project Gutenberg

Best Costume & Makeup Design
Project Gutenberg

Best Film Editing
Project Gutenberg

Best Visual Effects
Operation Red Sea

Best Sound Design
Operation Red Sea

Best Action Choreography
Operation Red Sea

Best Original Film Song
Men On The Dragon

Best Original Film Score
Men On The Dragon

Best Film From Mainland And Taiwan
Dying To Survive

Source: The Hollywood Reporter by Karen Chu