Crime drama “The Goldfinger” was the numerical winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, where it won six prizes on Sunday. But it missed out on the best film prize, which went to box office record breaker “A Guilty Conscience.”
“The Goldfinger,” a retro financial thriller starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah, earned a slew of technical award (cinematography, art direction, costume and make up, sound design and visual effects) as well as the lead actor prize for Leung.
Two films took three prizes each: “In Broad Daylight,” an investigation into abuse at a care home, and “Mad Fate,” Soi Cheang’s grungy examination of superstition in the city. “In Broad Daylight,” which opened anonymously this weekend in mainland Chinese cinemas, picked up three performance awards — best actress award for Jennifer Yu, best supporting actor for David Chiang and best supporting actress for Rachel Leung. “Mad Fate,” which premiered in Berlin in February 2023, picked up the best director award, best screenplay and best film editing prizes. Cheang will represent Hong Kong at next month’s Cannes festival, with his latest effort “Twilight of the Warrior Walled In.”
Directed by Jack Ng, “A Guilty Conscience” had been nominated in ten categories, but in the end took only a solo prize – the top one. Telling the tale of a lawyer trying to undo his own negligence and free a client who was wrongly convicted of murder the film last year earned HK$114 million ($14.6 million), to break the city’s box office record for a local film.
Veteran performer, martial artist and director Sammo Hung was given a lifetime achievement award. The event was held Sunday evening at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
