The Georgian film Brighton 4th directed by Levan Koguashvili won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 2021 Asian World Film Festival (AWFF). The jury awarded the Snow Leopard for Best Actor to Tolepbergen Baisakalov for Fire (Kazakhstan) and Best Actress to Arawinda Kirana for Yuni (Indonesia). Eran Kolirin, director of Let it Be Morning (Israel), was honored with the Snow Leopard Distinction Award for Directing and Yusif (Lebanon) was recognized with Snow Leopard Special Jury Award for the film’s production (Houssein Haidar, producer, actor, and screenwriter and Mohammed Kazem Fayad, director).
The Snow Leopard Audience Award went to Shambala (Kyrgyzstan), directed by Artykpai Suyundukov. Shambala also received the Dr. Dao and Dr. Linh Filmmaker Cash Award of $10,000.
On the Silk Road (Uzbekistan), directed by Sherzod Nazarov, topped the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) short film competition and was given the HFPA Scholarship Award of $5000.
The 2021 AWFF, now in its seventh year, showcased feature films from more than 20 nations. Screenings included a combined total of 15 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language submissions and a Window to Africa program.
Winners of 2021 Asian World Film Festival Awards
2021 AWFF Competition Winners
Snow Leopard for Best Film – Brighton 4th (Georgia), Levan Koguashvili, director
Snow Leopard for Best Actor – Tolepbergen Baisakalov for Fire (Kazakhstan)
Snow Leopard for Best Actress – Arawinda Kirana for Yuni (Indonesia)
Snow Leopard Distinction Award for Directing – Eran Kolirin, Let it Be Morning (Israel)
Snow Leopard Special Jury Award for production – Yusif (Lebanon), Houssein Haidar, producer, screenwriter, and actor and Mohammed Kazem Fayad, director
Snow Leopard Audience Award –Shambala (Kyrgyzstan), Artykpai Suyundukov, director
Dr. Dao and Dr. Linh Filmmaker Cash Award of $10,000 – Shambala (see above)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship Award of $5000 – On the Silk Road (Uzbekistan), Sherzod Nazarov, director
2021 AWFF Honorees
Snow Leopard Award for Outstanding Cinematic Achievement – Chloé Zhao, director
Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award – France Nuyen, actress
Snow Leopard Rising Star Award – Mayling Ng, actress
Ladies Tiffany Circle/Red Cross Courage to Dream Award – Lady Maiden Alex Ibru, publisher, chairman and CEO, The Guardian Newspapers (Nigeria), humanitarian, and film producer
Winn Slavin Humanitarian Award – Kieu Chinh, actress
One Heart Award – Her Royal Highness of Cambodia, Norodom Arunrasmy, princess, politician, and diplomat, in honor of her father, King Norodom Sihanook, statesman, royal, and filmmaker.
Angel Benefactor Award –Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles (KCCLA). Dr. Wijin Park, KCCLA director accepted the award
Angel Benefactor Award – Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Helen Hoehne, HFPA President, and Lena Basse, journalist, accepted the award
The Bruce Lee Award, presented in partnership with the Bruce Lee Foundation – Andy Cheng, actor, stuntperson, and martial artist