{"id":61224,"date":"2023-11-21T13:09:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T21:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=61224"},"modified":"2023-11-21T17:31:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T01:31:51","slug":"9th-annual-asian-world-film-festival-announces-winners-at-closing-night-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=61224","title":{"rendered":"9th Annual Asian World Film Festival Announces Winners at Closing Night Gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hanging Gardens”\u00a0<\/i>(Iraq<\/span>)\u00a0Wins Snow Leopard for Best Film<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Michael A. Goorjian<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(<\/i>Amerikatsi<\/i>)\u00a0Named Best Actor\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mouna Hawa<\/span>\u00a0(Inshallah a Boy)<\/i>\u00a0Wins Best Actress<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0John Milius Receives Lifetime Achievement Award<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Marry My Dead Body”(Taiwan) Wins Audience Award<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0Nov. 20, 2023<\/span><\/span> <\/strong>— The ninth annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF)\u00a0<\/a>announced its competition winners at a star-studded event on\u00a0November 17<\/span>\u00a0at the Culver Theater. The\u00a0Hanging Gardens\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(Iraq<\/span>)\u00a0directed by\u00a0Ahmed Al-Daradji<\/span>,<\/b>\u00a0won the\u00a0Snow Leopard Award for Best Film, presented by Vietnamese actress\u00a0Kieu Chinh<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(The Joy Luck Club<\/i>).\u00a0Michael A. Goorjian<\/span><\/b>\u00a0garnered the Snow Leopard for Best Actor\u00a0in\u00a0Amerikatsi<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>(Armenia<\/span>).\u00a0<\/b>The Snow Leopard for Best Actress\u00a0went to\u00a0Mouna Hawa<\/span><\/b>\u00a0for\u00a0Inshallah a Boy<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(Jordan<\/span>).<\/b>\u00a0The Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to\u00a0John Milius<\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>Oscar\u00b7\u00a0nominated screenwriter, film director, and producer\u00a0celebrating his legendary career including\u00a0Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry,\u00a0Red Dawn<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Conan the Barbarian<\/i>, was presented by actor\u00a0Martin Kove<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(Karate Kid, Rambo).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The 10-day AWFF offered a wide range of more than 50 feature films and special screening programs including 23 Academy Award\u00ae and Golden Globe\u00ae submissions for Best International Feature Film and Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language respectively from\u00a0Asia<\/span>. Several films honored by the AWFF are the official submissions of their respective countries:\u00a0Armenia<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Amerikatsi,<\/i><\/b>\u00a0Georgia<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Citizen Saint<\/i>,<\/b>\u00a0Iran<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Night Guardian<\/i><\/b>,\u00a0Iraq<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hanging Gardens<\/i><\/b>,\u00a0Jordan<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Inshallah a Boy<\/i><\/b>,\u00a0Taiwan<\/span>–\u00a0Marry My Dead Body<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The AWFF presented a series of exclusive\u00a0Snow Leopard<\/b>\u00a0Film Awards with the assistance of Jury President\u00a0Jon Amiel<\/span>. The Panavision Award for Best Cinematography ($60,000<\/span>\u00a0Camera Grant Package) was presented to\u00a0Krum Rodriguez<\/span><\/b>\u00a0for\u00a0Citizen Saint<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(Georgia<\/span>) by\u00a0Pitof,\u00a0<\/b>visual effects producer, director\u00a0(<\/i>Catwoman, Alien: Resurrection<\/i>).<\/i>\u00a0The Special Jury Award went to\u00a0The Night Guardian<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0Reza Mirkarimi<\/span>\u00a0(Iran<\/span>), presented by actress\u00a0Mai Thu Huyen<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(Kieu<\/i>). The Audience Award went to\u00a0Marry My Dead Body<\/b><\/i>\u00a0(Taiwan<\/span>), directed by Cheng Wei Hao.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Snow Leopard\u00a0<\/b>honorary awards included Outstanding Cinematic Achievement Award\u00a0was given to\u00a0Peter Kwong<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(Big Trouble in Little China<\/i>), presented by actress\u00a0Nancy Kwan<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(The World of\u00a0Susie Wong<\/span>).<\/i>\u00a0 The Rising Star Award\u00a0was presented to\u00a0Anirudh Pisharody<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(Big Sky, Never Have I Ever, 9-1-1<\/i>), by\u00a0Breydan Maniago\u00a0<\/b>(Dahmer<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Winn Slavin Humanitarian Award was given to\u00a0Le Ly Hayslip<\/span><\/b>, honoring her dedicated\u00a0efforts to humanitarian relief, education, and development to help rebuild Vietnam,\u00a0presented by fine art entrepreneur\u00a0Randall Slavin<\/span><\/b>. The Bruce Lee Award\u00a0was presented to\u00a0Tony Jaa<\/span>,<\/b>\u00a0legendary Thai martial arts actor, action director,<\/b>\u00a0presented by actor\u00a0Andy Cheng<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon<\/i>).\u00a0\u00a0AWFF New Horizon Best Film Award was given to\u00a0Berlin<\/span>,<\/i><\/b>\u00a0directed by\u00a0Atul Sabharwal<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(India<\/span>), presented by\u00a0Michelle Sugihara<\/span><\/b>, Executive Director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Georges Chamchoum, AWFF executive director<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“The spirit of our 9th<\/sup>\u00a0Year was Discovery and we delivered on a broad range of remarkable Asian films and engaging audience experiences,” stated Georges Chamchoum, AWFF executive director. “With our return to\u00a0Culver City<\/span>, we broke our records for movies with 23 Oscar submissions, the filmmakers in attendance, and our loyal audience.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The Short Films Awards, winners selected from 12 finalists from over 200 entries, include the Grand Prize for\u00a0Best Film ($2,000<\/span>\u00a0Winn Slavin Fine Art Gallery<\/span>\u00a0Award) given to\u00a0The Old Young Crow<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0Liam LoPinto<\/span>\u00a0(Japan<\/span>). The Runner-Up Award (Panavision Award of\u00a0$15,000<\/span>\u00a0Camera Package) went to\u00a0Our Males and Females<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by Ahmad Alyaseer (Jordan<\/span>). A Special Mention was given to\u00a0Witness<\/i><\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0Aida Tebianian<\/span>\u00a0(Iran<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The competition and honorary awards were delivered during a music-filled ceremony hosted by\u00a0Mark LaBella<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(SWAT)<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Charlene Shen<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>(Sky Link TV). Among the evening’s internationally recognized performers were a\u00a0Muy Thai<\/span><\/b>\u00a0martial arts exhibition, and an amazing performance from\u00a0ADEM Show<\/b>, Vietnamese singer\u00a0Nguyen Hong Nhung<\/span>\u00a0and a colorful finale of\u00a0Hung Gar Kung Fu and the Lion Dance Academy<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

SNOW LEOPARD COMPETITION AWARDEES<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n