Asian Film Awards 2020 winners: Parasite wins best picture but fails to dominate at online edition

The South Korean blockbuster Parasite only managed to take home four awards out of 10 nominations
Wang Xiaoshuai won best director for So Long, My Son, while Lee Byung-hun and Zhou Dongyu won best actor and actress

Asian cinema

Edmund Lee

Published: 5:04pm, 28 Oct 2020

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It had always looked like a foregone conclusion – and so it proved when the South Korean megahit Parasite was named best picture at the 14th edition of the Asian Film Awards on Wednesday afternoon. The film duly proved to be the biggest winner in an hour-long announcement programme streamed on the awards’ official YouTube channel, complete with pre-recorded acceptance speeches.

Even in a year that has turned out as surreal as any, no one could have realistically expected anything less for an international favourite like Bong Joon-ho’s black comedy, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival last year before going on to make Academy Awards history in February by winning the best picture Oscar.

Parasite’s haul of just four wins – also for best screenplay, editing and production design – out of its 10 nominations might even be viewed as a mild surprise by some observers. In particular, Chinese director’s Wang Xiaoshuai’s best director win, for So Long, My Son , may just be the upset of this year’s awards, considering that Bong had triumphed in the same category at the Oscars.

Lee Byung-hun’s best actor award for political drama The Man Standing Next marked the second time the Korean actor was recognised by the Asian Film Awards; he last won the prize in 2016, for Inside Men . Meanwhile, Better Days by Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung received two acting prizes: Zhou Dongyu won best actress, and Jackson Yee was named the year’s best newcomer.

The rest of the winners are spread evenly across territories that include Taiwan, Japan, India and Thailand. The winners’ list in full:

Best film: Parasite (South Korea)

Best director: Wang Xiaoshuai (So Long, My Son)