"Soul Mate" dominates 36th HKFA nominations

8 Feb - More movies with rookie directors are dominating the Hong Kong Film Awards this year, led by Eric Tsang's son Derek Tsang and his movie, "Soul Mate".

In the recent announcement made by the HKFA committee, it was revealed that "Soul Mate" is dominating the upcoming awards with 12 nominations, including the major categories - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress for both Zhou Dongyu and Sandra Ma.

On the other hand, "Weeds on Fire", "Mad World", and "Trivisa" - all three directed by new filmmakers such as Wong Chun, Frank Hui, and Jevons Au, garnered eight and seven nominations each.

Meanwhile, "Cold War 2" is the second film with the most nominations at this year's HKFA with ten. Its predecessor, "Cold War" was the Best Film winner back in 2013.

Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid" also came close with eight nominations, including Best Film and Best Director, while its lead actress Jelly Lin Yun has been nominated in the Best New Performer category.

The 36th Hong Kong Film Awards will be held on 9 April at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

The nominees are as follows:

Best Film
Soul Mate
Mermaid
Cold War II
Trivisa
Weeds On Fire

Best Director
Wong Chun (Mad World)
Derek Tsang (Soul Mate)
Johnnie To (Three)
Stephen Chow (Mermaid)
Frank Hui, Jevons Au, Vicky Wong (Trivisa)

Best Screenplay
Florence Chan (Mad World)
Lam Wing Sum, Li Yuan, Xu Yi-meng, Wu Nan (Soul Mate)
Stephen Chow (Mermaid)
Longman Leung, Sunny Luk, Jack Ng (Cold War II)
Loong Man Hong, Thomas Ng, Mak Tin Shu (Trivisa)

Best Actor
Shawn Yue (Mad World)
Francis Ng (Shed Skin Papa)
Tony Leung Ka Fai (Cold War II)
Richie Jen (Trivisa)
Lam Ka Tung (Trivisa)

Best Actress
Zhou Dongyu (Soul Mate)
Ma Sichun (Soul Mate)
Nina Paw (Show Me Your Love)
Tang Wei (Book Of Love)
Kara Wai (Happiness)

Best Supporting Actor
Eric Tsang (Mad World)
Paul Chin Pei (Book Of Love)
Ng Mang Tat (The Menu)
Philip Keung (Trivisa)
Liu Kai Chi (Weeds On Fire)

Best Supporting Actress
Charmaine Fong (Mad World)
Elaine Jin (Mad World)
Zhang Yu Qi (Mermaid)
Fish Liew (Sisterhood)
Janice Man (Cold War II)

Best New Performer
James Ng (Happiness)
Jelly Lin (Mermaid)
Jennifer Yu (Sisterhood)
Wu Tsz Tung Tony (Weeds On Fire)
Tam Sin Yin (Weeds On Fire)

Best Cinematography
Jake Pollock, Jing-Ping Yu (Soul Mate)
Cheng Siu Keung, To Hung Mo (Three)
Jason Kwan (Cold War II)
O Sing Pui (Weeds On Fire)
Peter Pau, Cao Yu (See You Tomorrow)

Best Film Editing
Derek Hui, Li Dianshi, Zhou Xiaolin, Tan Xiang-Yuan (Soul Mate)
Jordan Goldman, Ron Chan (Cold War II)
David Richardson (Operation Mekong)
Allen Leung, David Richardson (Trivisa)
David Wu (See You Tomorrow)

Best Art Direction
Zhai Tao (Soul Mate)
Silver Cheung, Fion Lee, Wu Zhen, Chong Kwok Wing (Sword Master) Daniel Fu (The Monkey King 2)
Chan Kam Ho Raymond (Mermaid)
Alfred Yau (See You Tomorrow)

Best Costume & Make Up Design
Dora Ng (Soul Mate)
Stanley Cheung (Sword Master)
Kenneth Yee Chung Man, Dora Ng (The Monkey King 2)
William Chang, Lui Fung Shan (League Of Gods)
William Chang, Cheung Siu Hong (See You Tomorrow)

Best Action Choreography
Yuen Bun, Dion Lam (Sword Master)
Sammo Hung (Call Of Heroes)
Sammo Hung (The Monkey King 2)
Chin Ka Lok (Cold War II)
Tung Wai (Operation Mekong)

Best Original Film Score
Yusuke Hatano (Mad World)
Peter Kam, Yusuke Hatano (Soul Mate)
Peter Kam (Cold War II)
Day Tai (Weeds On Fire)
Nathaniel Mechaly (See You Tomorrow)

Best Original Film Song
Leah Dou's "(It's Not A Crime) It's Just What We Do" (Soul Mate)
Deng Chao's "Wu Di" (Mermaid)
Supper Moment's "Anthem Of Shatin Martins" (Weeds On Fire)
Yusuke Hatano's "Better Tomorrow" (Happiness)
Eason Chan's "Keep Me By Your Side" (See You Tomorrow)

Best Sound Design
Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu Keung, Yiu Chun Hin, Lai Chi Hung (Sword Master)
Yin Jay (The Monkey King 2)
Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu Keung (Cold War II)
Nopawat Likitwong, Kaikangwol Rungsakorn, Sarunyu Nurnsai, Stan Yau (Operation Mekong)
Robert Mackenzie(See You Tomorrow)

Best Visual Effects
Sungjin Luke Jung (Sword Master)
Luke Sungjin Jung, Sanghoon Kim, Kim Chan Soo, Kim Chlu Min (The Monkey King 2)
Ken Law Wai Ho, Lee Inho, Kang Tae Gyun, Marco Ng (Mermaid)
Yee Kwok Leung, Raymond Leung (Cold War II)
Yee Kwok Leung, Felix Lai Tsz Fei, Kang Tae Gyun (Operation Mekong)

Best New Director
Wong Chun (Mad World)
Derek Tsang (Soul Mate)
Jazz BOON (Line Walker)
Andy Lo (Happiness)
Stevefat (Weeds On Fire)

Best Film From Mainland And Taiwan
Godspeed
Chongqing Hot Pot
The Road To Mandalay
Mr. Six
I Am Not Madame Bovary