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On March 12, the 16th Asian Film Awards will be held at the Horse Racing Club Auditorium at the Hong Kong Palace Museum for the first time in three years.
The Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), an organization established in 2013 by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, and Tokyo International Film Festival for the development of Asian films, holds the Asian Film Awards every year to promote and recognize excellent works in the Asian film industry.
According to sources, the South Korean actor Ji Chang Wook will receive the Next Generation Award at the 16th Asian Film Awards. The Next Generation Award is a special award in the non-competitive category.
Ji Chang Wook made his debut in the dramas through Sleeping Beauty, and since then the actor has won viewers' hearts for his splendid performances in numerous hit dramas like Empress Ki, Healer, The K2, Suspicious Partner, and Backstreet Rookie, among the few. He will now be seen in Welcome to Samdalri alongside Shin Hye Sun.
This year's award ceremony will be attended by numerous Asian filmmakers who have been nominated and awarded. The renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou will serve as the head of the jury this year. The best director nominations are Hirokazu Koreeda from Broker, Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Drive My Car (also nominated for Best Picture), Lav Diaz of When the Waves Are Gone, and Darezhan Omirbayev of Poet, among others.
Nominations for the best actor are Park Hae Il (Decision to Break Up), Im Si Wan (Emergency Declaration), Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car), Suzuki Ryohei (Egoist), Zhang Yi (Home Coming), and Tony Leung (Where the Wind Blows) to name a few.
The best actress nominees are Sylvia Chang (A Light Never Goes Out), Karena Lam (American Girl), Happy Salma (Before, Now & Then), Tang Wei (Decision to Leave), and Chieko Baisho (Plan 75).
