hk prize
The Hong Kong Arts Council (HKAC) is launching the BOCHK SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PRIZE, to recognise scientists and research teams working in Hong Kong or in research-related institutions set up by Hong Kong higher education institutions and located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, for their outstanding achievements in scientific and technological innovation. It is a merit-based award that is open to the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Life and Health, New Materials and New Energy, Advanced Manufacturing and FinTech. The prize will be awarded to no more than five persons (or team) per field each year. Those who have won this prize in the past are not eligible to be nominated again within the same field of application.
In the documentary category, the jury prize went to Wong Sui-pong’s Obedience, exploring a microcosm of Hong Kong’s Hung Hom district; and a special mention was given to Oksana Karpovych’s Intercepted, which contrasts scenes of Ukrainians since their invasion with phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families. The 49th HKIFF ran from March 28 to April 8, screening more than 190 films from 62 territories.
Veteran performer and martial artist Sammo Hung won the best actor prize for his performance in the action-thriller Raging Fire, which won the best film and best action choreography prizes. The award ceremony was held Sunday evening at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
The Academy also awarded a lifetime achievement prize to veteran director and actor Benny Chan, who died in 2020. His cops-and-robbers actioner Raging Fire won the best film and best action choreography awards at the 40th HKIFF. Actor Andy Lau accepted the award on behalf of Chan’s widow.
HKIFF’s other awards included the best screenplay and best music for Wong Chi-chi’s The Turning, and the best supporting actress prize to Yeung Siu Tien for her role as a ruthless police chief in the action thriller Black Mask. Copy editor James Cook won the second runner-up for his innovative title In the Green Fast Lane, which highlighted the city’s efforts to accelerate public and private electric vehicle adoption.
The Hong Kong Book Prize is organised by the Society for Hong Kong Studies and sponsored by the BOCHK SCIENCE AND TECNOLOGY INNOVATION PRIZE. The prize is a new addition to the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) book prize family. The winner of the ICAS 2023 Hong Kong Book Prize will receive HKD 2,000,000, a certificate and a trophy. Nominees must submit a written explanation of their work to the Organising Committee by 30 November 2019 (23:59). The winners will be announced in early May 2024. More details can be found at the website of the HKIFF.