Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s wartime period drama Wife of a Spy (Japan) was the biggest winner of the night at the 15th Asian Film Awards (AFA15) taking the Best Film Award, the Best Actress Award (Aoi Yu) and the Best Costume Design Award (Koketsu Haruki).

Zhang Yimou won the Best Director Award with One Second (Mainland China), which also earned the Best Newcomer Award for the rising actress Liu Haocun. Korean actors had a strong presence. Yoo Ah-in, who played the mute protagonist in Voice of Silence (Korea) won the Best Actor Award, while Kim Hyun-bin won the Best Supporting Actor Award for his role as a deaf schoolboy in The Silent Forest (Taiwan). Household name Lee Byung-hun received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, which celebrated his stellar acting career spanning over30 years.

Director Hong Eui-jeong continued to pile up awards with her debut feature film Voice of Silence (Korea) and won the Best New Director Award. Teen actress Makita Aju won the Best Supporting Actress Award with her compelling performance in True Mothers (Japan). Chaitanya Tamhane won the Best Screenplay award for The Disciple (India) and Masoud Amini Tirani won the Best Cinematography award with The Wasteland (Iran). Demon Slayer –Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (Japan) was announced as the Highest-Grossing Asian Film of 2020.

15th Asian Film Awards Winners

BEST FILM
Wife of a Spy

BEST DIRECTOR
ZHANG Yimou (One Second)

BEST ACTOR
YOO Ah-in (Voice of Silence)

BEST ACTRESS
AOI Yu (Wife of a Spy)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
KIM Hyun-bin (The Silent Forest)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MAKITA Aju (True Mothers)

BEST NEW DIRECTOR
HONG Eui-jeong (Voice of Silence)

BEST NEWCOMER
LIU Haocun (One Second)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Chaitanya TAMHANE (The Disciple)

BEST EDITING
LI Yongyi (Cliff Walkers)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Masoud Amini Tirani (The Wasteland)

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Day TAI (The Way We Keep Dancing)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
KOKETSU Haruki (Wife of a Spy)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Kenneth MAK (Limbo)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Tim CROSBIE, Joy WU (The Eight Hundred)

BEST SOUND
Nopawat LIKITWONG (Limbo)