‘Project Gutenberg’ wins big at Hong Kong Film Awards
HONG KONG: A currency forging flick was the main winner when Project Gutenberg scooped up seven titles at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Its haul of seven awards included those for best film, and best director and best screenplay.
Veteran actor Anthony Wong won his third best actor award for portraying a grumpy disabled man in Still Human, notably edging out Chow Yun-fatt, who had starred in Project Gutenberg.
Chloe Maayan was named best actress for her role in Three Husbands, while Crisel Consunji, who had portrayed Anthony’s maid in Still Human, won the award for best new performer.
Oliver Chan Siu-kuen was named best new director for Still
‘Dying to Survive’ is based on the real-life story of Lu Yong, a Chinese leukaemia patient who smuggled cheap but unproven cancer medicine from India for 1,000 Chinese cancer sufferers in 2004.
Human.
The prizes for best supporting actor and actress went to Ben Yuen and Kara Wai, respectively, both for Tracey, a coming-out transgender film.
Tracey is the story of family man Tung Tai-hung, who has long been in a stable, if unfulfilling marriage with ultraconservative Chinese opera singer Anne (Kara), with whom he had two children, now grown up (Jennifer Yu Heung-ying and Ng Siu-hin, both excellent despite their limited screen time).
Tung’s uneventful middle-aged life revolves around the daily operation of the modest eyewear store he owns. The solitude of this soft-spoken man is interrupted by news of the death of a highschool friend, which serves as an acute reminder to Tung of two of his long-held secrets: that he has always believed he is a woman in a man’s body, and that he was in love with one of his two adolescent buddies.
Meanwhile, a prize for best film from mainland China or Taiwan was awarded to Dying to Survive.
Dying to Survive was directed by Wen Muye in his feature film debut.
The film is based on the reallife story of Lu Yong, a Chinese leukaemia patient who smuggled cheap but unproven cancer medicine from India for 1,000 Chinese cancer sufferers in 2004.Dying to Survive starred Xu Zheng in the lead role, who also co-produced the film with star comedian Ning Hao.
During the awards ceremony, the prizes were delivered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, with the territory’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam on hand to present a lifetime achievement award to veteran actor Patrick Tse.