AACTA Award For Best Asian Film
The AACTA Award for Best Asian Film, the cornerstone of AACTA’s Asia International Engagement Program, acknowledges the finest Asian films of the past twelve months, reflecting the popularity and importance of Asian films in Australia.
The growing Chinese and Indian diaspora have had a substantial impact on Australian box office and cinema trends, and films from these thriving filmmaking nations, along with those from the esteemed industries of South Korea, Japan and 15 other countries in the region, will now be honoured and celebrated alongside Australia’s best and brightest to an increasingly diverse Australian audience.
The winner of the Award is determined by a Grand Jury of highly regarded film industry leaders from around the world, led by Oscar® and multiple AFI | AACTA Award-winning actor Russell Crowe. Read more about the members of the Best Asian Film Grand Jury here.
Past AACTA Award for Best Asian Film Winners
BETTER DAYS
2020 AACTA Awards
Brutal school bullying meets romantic fantasy in Derek Tsang’s BETTER DAYS, which has won a slate of awards throughout Asia, including a Best Director nod from the 2020 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.
The other nominated films competing for the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film were:
- BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS (Dir. Kim Yong-Hoon, SOUTH KOREA)
- CHHAPAAK (Dir. Meghna Gulzar, INDIA)
- FIRST LOVE (Dir. Takashi Miike, JAPAN)
- THE EIGHT HUNDRED (Dir. Hu Guan, CHINA)
- SHUBH MANGAL ZYADA SAAVDHAN (Dir. Hitesh Kewalya, INDIA)
- THAPPAD (Dir. Anubhav Sinha, INDIA)
- TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA (Dir. Yeon Sang-Ho, SOUTH KOREA)
- THE WILD GOOSE LAKE (Dir. Yi'nan Diao, CHINA)
PARASITE
2019 AACTA Awards
Bong Joon-Ho’s PARASITE made waves globally earlier this year as the first South Korean film to ever win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The genre-blending film has been widely celebrated and with a box office of $100 million and counting, audiences are loving it too. The film was also recently announced as South Korea’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd upcoming Oscars®.
The other nominated films competing for the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film were:
- ANDHADHUN (Dir. Sriram Raghavan, INDIA)
- GULLY BOY (Dir. Zoya Akhtar, INDIA)
- HELLO LOVE GOODBYE (Dir. Cathy Garcia-Molina, PHILLIPENES)
- NE ZHA (Dir. Jiao Zi, CHINA)
- SHADOW (Dir. Zhang Yimou, CHINA)
- SUPER DELUXE (Dir. Thiagarajan Kumararaja, INDIA)
- THE WANDERING EARTH (Dir. Frant Gwo, CHINA)
- WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES (Dir. Makoto Nagahisa, JAPAN)
DYING TO SURVIVE
2018 AACTA Awards
Chinese box office hit DYING TO SURVIVE was announced as the winner of the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film – becoming the first Chinese film to win the Award. Director Muye Wen accepted the Award, which was presented on stage by Golden Globe Award-winning actress Rachel Griffiths and Best Asian Film Grand Juror, China-based director Renny Harlin.
AACTA Best Asian Film Grand Jury President, Oscar® and AACTA Award-winning actor Russell Crowe said, “Although thousands of films are produced worldwide each year, only a small group manage to spark political debate, receive critical acclaim and become a commercial success – DYING TO SURVIVE is one of these rare films. On behalf of AACTA and the Best Asian Film Grand Jury, I congratulate Muye Wen, Xu Zheng and the cast and crew on their incredible success.
The other nominated films competing for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Asian Film were:
- 1987 WHEN THE DAY COMES (Dir. Joon-Hwan Jang)
- THE BOLD, THE CORRUPT AND THE BEAUTIFUL (Dir. Ya-Che Yang)
- GALI GULEIYAN (Dir. Dipesh Jain)
- NEWTON (Dir. Amit Marsurkar)
- SANJU (Dir. Rajkumar Hirani)
- SHOPLIFTERS (Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)
- TOMBIRUO (Dir. Seth Larney)
- YOUTH (Dir. Feng Xiaogang)
DANGAL
2017 AACTA Awards
The inaugural AACTA Award for Best Asian Film was awarded to Indian sports drama DANGAL – the first Indian film to gross $300 million worldwide. Lead actress Sakshi Tanwar accepted the Award, which was presented by Best Asian Film Grand Jury President and Oscar® winner Russell Crowe at the 2017 AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Foxtel.
Competition for a nomination was fierce, with a long list of eligible films from the Asian region. The long list of contenders was reviewed and judged by three Pre-Selection Committees made up of esteemed industry figures. In accordance with their knowledge and experience, each committee determined three clear nominees from a specific region – China, India and another committee that encompassed South Korea, Japan and other Asian territories.
The nine nominated films were:
- BIRDSHOT
- DANGAL - WINNER
- I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY
- KAASAV: TURTLE
- OUR TIME WILL COME
- PINK
- TRAIN TO BUSAN
- WOLF WARRIOR II
- YOUR NAME
