Chinese sci-fi hit “The Wandering Earth,” China’s Cannes competition film “Wild Goose Lake,” and Korea’s Palme d’Or-winning “Parasite” are among the nominees for the AACTA Award for best Asian film.
The nominees were announced on the margins of the Shanghai International Film Festival. The winners will be announced Dec. 4 at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards ceremony in Sydney.
Other Chinese films in the running include “Pegasus”; Chinese-Hong Kong comedy-drama “The New King of Comedy”; animated fantasy film “White Snake”; Renny Harlin-directed “Bodies at Rest”; “Hidden Man”; Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow”; Hong Kong Film Award-winning action movie “Project Gutenberg”; dark comedy “A Cool Fish”; and mystery drama “Headlines.” Also included is the yet-to-be-released Australia-China co-production “The Whistleblower.”
From elsewhere in Asia, competing tiles include Indian action film “Uri: The Surgical Strike”; India’s foreign-language Oscar contender, “Village Rockstars”; Indian action comedy “The Man Who Feels No Pain”; Korean mystery drama “Burning”; action comedy “Extreme Job”; Sundance and Berlinale award-winning Japanese drama “We Are Little Zombies” and Japanese animation “Weathering With You.”
Winners will be decided by a jury that is headed by Russell Crowe and includes Hong Kong’s Chloe Maayan (“Three Husbands”), Shaw Brothers executive Virginia Lok, Harlin, and Australian producer Paul Currie (“Hacksaw Ridge,” “Bleeding Steel”).
“We are proud to return to Shanghai to launch the third year of our Asia International Engagement Program, and to continue encouraging, promoting and growing the opportunities for creative collaborations and meaningful pathways between our film industry and those of our Asian neighbors,” said Australian Film Institute and AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella.