‘Evil Does Not Exist’ and ‘12.12: The Day’ lead nominations for 17th Asian Film Awards

Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” led the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards (AFA) with six nominations each, including Best Film.

The nominations were revealed on Friday in Hong Kong, setting the stage for the awards ceremony on 10 March at the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Qiyu Centre.

According to a Variety report, AFA is expected to repeat itself like in 2023 when the Korean drama “Decision to Leave” was nominated in ten categories but secured only three awards, losing Best Picture to Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car”.

The jury for 2024 AFA will be headed by renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi—who is best known for films like “Cure,” “Pulse,” and “Wife of a Spy”. Ahead of the ceremony, Kiyoshi shared a video message to the nominations event and praised the AFAs for helping with Asia’s cinematic diversity.

This year, nominations are predominantly features films from East Asia, particularly Korea, Japan, and Greater China, leaving only one film from South Asia in contention. Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage’s “Paradise” earned four nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Another notable mention was “Snow Leopard” by Pema Tseden, the Tibetan-Chinese director who passed away last year, also securing four nominations.

AFA will mark the beginning of a bustling month of film-related events in Hong Kong. The awards ceremony will precede the Hong Kong FilMart, the largest film rights market in Asia, and the HAF film project market. Concluding the month, the Hong Kong International Film Festival will take center stage.

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