Japan’s Koji YAKUSHO Is Nominated for Best Actor; Ken WATANABE Joins the Jury
The Asian Film Awards Academy announced the nominations for the 13th Asian Film Awards (AFA13) in Hong Kong today. AFA13 will present 16 awards recognizing artistic and technical merit in film. Japanese films and talents were nominated in 14 categories*, led by 2018’s Palme d'Or winning film, Shoplifters (Director: KORE-EDA Hirokazu), which received nominations in six categories, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (Sakura ANDO) and Best Supporting Actress (Mayu MATSUOKA, who was the 31st TIFF ambassador). Koji YAKUSHO, who was the focus of a retrospective tribute at the 31st TIFF in celebration of his 40th anniversary as an actor, was nominated for Best Actor for The Blood of Wolves; and Shinichiro UEDA received a Best New Director nomination for One Cut of the Dead, one of the biggest and longest-running hits at the Japanese box office in 2018.
Internationally renowned actress-director Joan CHEN serves as this year’s Jury President. She will lead a seven-member jury that consists of respected film industry professionals, festival programmers and critics from around the world. AFAA is also enormously honored to have Academy Award and Tony Award nominee Ken WATANABE as Celebrity Juror.
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), together with the Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival, created the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFA Academy or AFAA), a nonprofit organization, in 2013 to promote and develop Asian cinema and its talents. Organized by the AFA Academy, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) will celebrate its 13th anniversary this year.
The 13th Asian Film Awards will take place at Hong Kong’s TVB City, on March 17, 2019 (Sunday).
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From left: Yuya ISHII, YANG Ik-june,Norio ISHII at 12th AFA Ceremony ©Asian Film Awards Academy
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Wilfred WONG, Chairman of AFAA and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, adds, “AFAA is pleased to bring together outstanding Asian filmmakers here in Hong Kong in our annual celebration of excellence in Asian cinema. AFA13 sees its toughest competition in years as last year’s finest films mainly hail from Asian countries. I’d like to congratulate AFA13 on putting together an incredible jury that includes the iconic Joan CHEN and Ken WATANABE. We look forward to another celebration of Asian cinema and I wish AFAA’s continued success of providing platforms for new faces and up-and-coming artists in 2019.”
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Details of the 13th Asian Film Awards Ceremony:
Date: March 17, 2019 (Sunday)
Venue: TVB City
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