The Last Film Show (India), directed by Pan Nalin, won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the eighth annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF). Mohsen Tanabandeh garnered the Snow Leopard for Best Actor for World War III (Iran), and Hui Fang Hong was honored with the Snow Leopard for Best Actress for Ajoomma (Singapore).
The Snow Leopard Special Jury Award went to World War III, directed by Houman Seyedi, and the Snow Leopard Audience Award to Aurora’s Sunrise (Armenia), directed by Inna Sahakyan. Kerr (Turkey) director of photography, Andreas Sinanos, received the Panavision Best Cinematography Award along with a $60,000 Panavision Camera Grant of cutting-edge filmmaking equipment.
“This year’s AWFF screened an amazing bounty of cinematic riches,” said Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF executive director. “We exhibited films from more than 50 nations, and each emblematic of the value of Asian voices to the industry and to audiences. The awards reflect the spirit of AWFF and the essence of what the festival stands for!”
AWFF Competition Winners
Snow Leopard for Best Film – The Last Film Show (India), Pan Nalin, director
Snow Leopard for Best Actor – Mohsen Tanabandeh, World War III (Iran)
Snow Leopard for Best Actress – Hui Fang Hong, Ajoomma (Singapore)
Snow Leopard Audience Award – Aurora’s Sunrise (Armenia), Inna Sahakyan, director
Snow Leopard Special Jury Award – World War III (Iran), Houman Seyedi, director
Panavision Best Cinematography Award and Panavision Camera Grant – Andreas Sinanos, cinematographer, Kerr (Turkey)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship Award of $5000 – “Warsha” (Lebanon/France), Dania Bdeir, director
StarsCollective Emerging Filmmaker Award – Adilet Karzhoev, director, “Burul” (Kyrgyzstan)
Panavision Award for Short Film Cinematography – Amirhossein Khoshbin, cinematographer, “Deer” (Iran)
AWFF Honorees
(Previously Announced)
Snow Leopard Award for Outstanding Cinematic Achievement – Park Chan-wook, writer, director, producer
Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award – Albert S. Ruddy, producer
Snow Leopard Rising Star Award – Desmond Chiam, actor, writer, producer
The Bruce Lee Award, in partnership with the Bruce Lee Foundation – Daniel Wu, actor, martial artist, director, producer
Ladies Tiffany Circle American Red Cross Courage to Dream Award – Dr. Michael Dao and Dr. Linh Bui, physicians and philanthropists
Winn Slavin Humanitarian Award – Truong Ngoc Anh, philanthropist
One Heart Award – Love Life Learning Foundation, cofounders Alan Vo Ford and Jenny Ai Trinh Thai
Angel Benefactor Award – Jennifer McCormick and Lani Netter, Ladies Tiffany Circle American Red Cross
Angel Benefactor Award – Raghu Kilambi, CEO/CFO, Power Tap Hydrogen Fueling Corporation