Stars Shine Amid Controversial 2016 Hong Kong Film Awards

​The biggest surprise of the night came when low-budget political drama Ten Years was honoured with the Best Film award despite tensions with the Chinese government over the movie’s depiction of a Communist Party controlled Hong Kong in dystopian 2025. 

Producer Andrew Choi told the BBC the award came as a surprise: “It’s important for Hong Kong that a film that echoes so much of what people are feeling in their hearts has won,” he told the English publication. Choi added that the film won after several rounds of voting by mainly Hong Kong filmmakers and praised the “integrity” of that process. 

News of the film’s success is censored on the mainland, and the awards show, held on April 3, was for the first time not broadcasted in China.

The night’s biggest winner however went to Port of Call, who nabbed seven awards, including the four top acting categories. Aaron Kwok and Jessie Li both received the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively. Elaine Jin was awarded Best Supporting Actress while Michael Ning won two awards: Best Supporting Actor and Best New Performer. Philip Yung and Christopher Doyle also won Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography for their work in the crime thriller based on a real murder case.