Nominations Announced for the 18th Asian Film Awards

The Asian Film Awards Academy (AFA Academy or AFAA) announced the nominations for 18th Asian Film Awards (18AFA) and the Jury President for this year on Friday 10th January 2025 at The Press Conference in Grand Ballroom The Langham, Kowloon Hong Kong, many official guests attended including LIN Min-Chen, Lo Chun Yip, Kenny WONG, Jennifer YU.

Thirties outstanding films from 25 countries and regions have been shortlisted to compete for 16 awards at AFA18, which celebrates artistic and technical achievements in Asian cinema.

Best Film 
1 All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
2 Black Dog (Mainland China)
3 Exhuma (South Korea)
4 Teki Cometh (Japan)
5 Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST DIRECTOR

1 Payal KAPADIA (India) - All We Imagine as Light
2 GUAN HU (Mainland China) - Black Dog
3 JANG Jae-hyun - Exhume (South Korea)
4 Rithy PANH (Cambodia) - Meeting with Pol Pot
5 YOSHIDA Daihachi (Japan) - Teki Cometh

BEST ACTOR
1 Eddie PENG (Taiwan) - Black Dog
2 CHOI Min-sik (South Korea) - Exhuma
3 Sean LAU (Hong Kong) - Papa
4 NAGATSUKA Kyozo (Japan) - Teki Cometh
5 Michael HUI (Hong Kong) - The Last Dance

BEST ACTRESS

1 Kani KUSRUTI (India) - All We Imagine as Light
2 Sylvia CHANG (Taiwan) - Daughter's Daughter
3 KAWAI Yuumi (Japan) - Desert of Namibia
4 KIM Go-eun (South Korea) - Exhuma
5 Shahana GOSWAMI (India) - Santosh (India, United Kingdom, France, Germany)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1 MITSUISHI Ken (Japan) - All the Long Nights
2 IKEMATSU Sosuke (Japan) - My Sunshine
3 LEE Kang-Sheng (Taiwan) - Stranger Eyes (Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States)
4 CHU Pak Hong (Hong Kong) - The Last Dance
5 Philip NG (Hong Kong) - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1 Maggie LI Lin Lin (Hong Kong) - All Shall Be Well
2 Divya PRABHA (India) - All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
3 LIM Ji-yeon (South Korea) - Revolver
4 TAKIUCHI Kumi (Japan) - Teki Cometh
5 YANG Kuei-Mei (Taiwan) - Yen and Ai-Lee

BEST NEW DIRECTOR
1 YAMANAKA Yoko (Japan) - Desert of Namibia
2 SORA Neo (Japan) - Happy end
3 DONG Zijian (China) - My Friend An Delie
4 Sandhya SURI (India) - Santosh
5 TRUONG Minh Quý (Vietnam) - Viêt and Nam (The Philippines, France, Singapore,

Netherlands, Germany, Italy)

BEST NEWCOMER
1 LEE Do-hyun (South Korea) - Exhuma
2 KURIHARA Hayato (Japan) - Happy end
3 JANG Jae-hyun (South Korea) - Exhuma
4 Bilkin Putthipong ASSARATANAKUL
(Thailand) - How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies/Lan mahn
5 Dylan SO (Hong Kong) - Papa
6 Duy Bao Dinh DAO (Vietnam) - Viêt and Nam

BEST SCREENPLAY

1 WADA Kiyoto, MIYAKE Sho - All the Long Nights (Japan)

2 Payal KAPADIA - All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

3 JANG Jae-hyun - Exhuma (South Korea)

4 Pierre ERWAN GUILLAUME, Rithy PANH - 

Meeting with Pol Pot (Cambodia, France, Taiwan, Qatar, Türkiye)

5 Mohammad RASOULOF - The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Iran, Germany, France)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1 YANG Donglin - A Tapestry of a Legendary Land (Mainland China)

2 CHOI Yoon-sun - Exhuma (South Korea)

3 Dorjee Dradhul - GURUNG Shambhala

(Nepal, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Qatar, 

Taiwan, Türkiye, United States)

4 MIYAMOTO Mari - Teki Cometh (Japan)

5 Bruce YU, Karen YIP - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1 HUO Tingxiao, LI Chang  - Black Dog (Mainland China)

2 PHAM Phong Lan - Don't Cry, Butterfly (Vietnam, Singapore, The Philippines, Indonesia)

3 SEO Sung-kyung - Exhuma (South Korea)

4 HAYASHIDA Yuji - The Box Man (Japan)

5 Kenneth MAK, CHAU Sai Hung Ambrose - 

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST EDITING

1 Clément PINTEAUX - All We Imagine as Light

(India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

2 Rithy PANH, Matthieu LACLAU - 

Meeting with Pol Pot (Cambodia, France, Taiwan, Qatar, Türkiye)

3 William CHANG Suk Ping - My Friend An Delie

(Mainland China)

4 Jojo SHEK - Papa (Hong Kong)

5 CHEUNG Ka Fai - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1 HONG Kyeong-pyo - Harbin (South Korea)

2 LV Songye - My Friend An Delie (Mainland China)

3 Aziz ZHAMBAKIYEV - Shambhala (Nepal, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Qatar, 

Taiwan, Türkiye, United States)

4 SHINOMIYA Hidetoshi - Teki Cometh (Japan)

5 CHENG Siu Keung - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

1 Hi'Spec - All the Long Nights (Japan)

2 KIM Tae-sung - Exhuma (South Korea)

3 KATSUMOTO Michiaki - The Box Man (Japan)

4 CHU Wan Pin - The Last Dance (Hong Kong)

5 KAWAI Kenji - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1 Danny YIN - Black Dog (Mainland China)

2 SATO Fumiro, KOBARI Yasuhiro - Black Ox (Japan, Taiwan)

3 Tomi KUO, CHIU Chun-Yi - Dead Talents Society (Taiwan)

4 KIM Shin-chul, Daniel SON - Exhuma (South Korea)

5 LIN Chun Yue Jules, MA Siu Fu, Garrett K LAM, YEE Kwok Leung - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

BEST SOUND

1 Zurab KURMANBAYEV - Cadet (Kazakhstan)

2 KIM Byung-in - Exhuma (South Korea)

3 TU Duu-Chih, TU Tse-Kang - Stranger Eyes (Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States)

4 YIU Chun Hin, CHEUNG Man Hoi, TO Burnard Davy - Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

5 Vincent VILLA - Viêt and Nam (The Philippines, France, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Italy)

Asian Film Awards Academy

Asian Film Awards Academy is a non-profit organization founded by Busan, Hong Kong and

Tokyo International Film Festivals with the shared goal of celebrating excellence in Asian

cinema. In addition to the annual Asian Film Awards, the Academy hosts year-round events

and programmes with the objectives to promote Asian films to a broader audience, expand the film market within Asia, and foster connections among film professionals in Hong Kong and beyond.

The Asian Film Awards has been held for 17 years, featuring distinguished awards such as Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor/ Actress. The voting panel, composed of nominees and winners from previous years, participates annually in selecting the winners across all categories for the Asian Film Awards. Panel members also have the opportunity to attend events organized by the Academy across Asia and worldwide, engaging with industry professionals and audiences.

Official website: www.afa-academy.com

©TIFF