The 15th Asian Film Awards (AFA15) announced the winners in 18 categories on October 8, 2021 at a much anticipated ceremony hosted by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) in conjunction with Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) at the Paradise Hotel Busan.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony was held in hybrid format with a total of 80 nominees attending on-site or participating online. Korean stars LEE Byung-hun, YOO Ah-in, JUN Jong-seo, PARK Jeong-min, JANG Yoon-ju, KIM Hyun-bin and GONG Seung-yeon dazzled the audience on the red carpet, joined by world-renowned Korean director LEE Chang-dong, Jury President of AFA15, and Japanese filmmaker HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke.
The biggest winner of the night was KUROSAWA Kiyoshi's wartime period drama Wife of a Spy (Japan), which received 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 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 over 30 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.
AFA15 Ceremony Video: https://youtu.be/aLp6u7ZYXHs
