The 18th Asian Film Awards, the region’s leading cinema honors, unveiled its 2025 nominations Friday, with South Korea’s horror hit Exhuma leading the pack with 11 nods. Directed by Jang Jae-hyun, the supernatural thriller melds feng shui and shamanistic traditions in a haunting narrative about an ominous grave. The movie was both a critical favorite and a huge theatrical sensation in South Korea, becoming the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. Alongside its best film nomination, the film earned recognition across several major categories, including best director, best actor for Choi Min-sik and best actress for Kim Go-eun.
The Asia Film Awards will return to Hong Kong on March 16 with a glitzy ceremony at the city’s Xiqu Centre in the West Kowloon Cultural District. This year’s lineup of honorees includes 30 films from 25 countries and regions, spanning 16 competitive categories.
The Hong Kong throwback action epic Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, adapted from Yuyi’s novel City of Darkness, was the second-most feted film with nine nominations. Directed by Soi Cheang, the film immerses audiences in the gritty Kowloon Walled City of the 1980s. With themes of brotherhood and resilience, it earned recognition in categories including best film, best supporting actor, best cinematography and best original music, signaling a potential resurgence for the city’s iconic action cinema.
India’s festival favorite All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia and winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix, scored six noms, including best film, best director and best actress for Kani Kusruti. Japan’s contemplative Teki Cometh, helmed by Yoshida Daihachi, also garnered six nods. The film has been lauded for its poignant exploration of solitude and its monochromatic cinematography.
Hong Kong added more heft to its nominations haul with Papa, a heartfelt story of father-son reconciliation, and The Last Dance, a reflection on Hong Kong’s funeral industry. The films earned three nominations each, highlighted by veteran actor Michael Hui’s nod for best actor in The Last Dance.
Adding further hometown star power to this year’s ceremony is the appointment of legendary filmmaker and martial artist Sammo Hung as this year’s AFA jury president.
“It is my pleasure to serve as the jury president for the Asian Film Awards,” Hung shared in a statement. “It is a significant responsibility, and I hope to continue supporting the growth of Asian cinema.”
Japanese actor Dean Fujioka leads the ambassadorial lineup alongside a cohort of youth representatives, including Thai actress Aokbab Chutimon (Bad Genius), Taiwanese actor Austin Lin and Japan’s Okada Masaki. Their participation underscores the event’s mission of bridging regional boundaries.
The AFA honors are awarded by the Asian Film Awards Academy, which is supported by the region’s most prestigious movie festivals — South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival, Japan’s Tokyo International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
The AFA ceremony takes place the day before Asia’s leading content market, Hong Kong Filmart, kicks off on March 17, drawing film industry figures from across the region to do business in the city.
See the full list of 2025 Asian Film Award nominess below.
BEST FILM
All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Black Dog (Mainland China)
Exhuma (South Korea)
Teki Cometh (Japan)
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST DIRECTOR
Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Guan Hu – Black Dog (Mainland China)
Jang Jae-hyun – Exhuma (South Korea)
Rithy Panh – Meeting With Pol Pot (Cambodia, France, Taiwan, Qatar, Türkiye)
Yoshida Daihachi – Teki Cometh (Japan)
BEST ACTOR
Eddie Peng – Black Dog (Mainland China)
Choi Min-sik – Exhuma (South Korea)
Sean Lau – Papa (Hong Kong)
Nagatsuka Kyozo – Teki Cometh (Japan)
Michael Hui – The Last Dance (Hong Kong)
BEST ACTRESS
Kani Kusruti – All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Sylvia Chang – Daughter’s Daughter (Taiwan)
Kawai Yuumi – Desert of Namibia (Japan)
Kim Go-eun – Exhuma (South Korea)
Shahana Goswami – Santosh (India, United Kingdom, France, Germany)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mitsuishi Ken – All the Long Nights (Japan)
Ikematsu Sosuke – My Sunshine (Japan)
Lee Kang-sheng – Stranger Eyes (Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States)
Chu Pak Hong – The Last Dance (Hong Kong)
Philip Ng – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maggie Li Lin Lin – All Shall Be Well (Hong Kong)
Divya Prabha – All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Lim Ji-yeon – Revolver (South Korea)
Takiuchi Kumi – Teki Cometh (Japan)
Yang Kuei-Mei – Yen and Ai-Lee (Taiwan)
BEST NEW DIRECTOR
Yamanaka Yoko – Desert of Namibia (Japan)
Sora Neo – Happyend (Japan, United States)
Dong Zijian – My Friend An Delie (Mainland China)
Sandhya Suri – Santosh (India, United Kingdom, France, Germany)
Truong Minh Quý – Viêt and Nam (The Philippines, France, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Italy)
BEST NEWCOMER
Lee Do-hyun – Exhuma (South Korea)
Kurihara Hayato – Happyend (Japan, United States)
Putthipong Assaratanakul – How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thailand)
Dylan So – Papa (Hong Kong)
Duy Bao Dinh Dao – Viêt and Nam (The Philippines, France, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Italy)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wada Kiyoto, Miyake Sho – All the Long Nights (Japan)
Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Jang Jae-hyun – Exhuma (South Korea)
Pierre Erwan Guillaume, Rithy Panh – Meeting With Pol Pot (Cambodia, France, Taiwan, Qatar, Türkiye)
Mohammad Rasoulof – The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Iran, Germany, France)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Yang Donglin – A Tapestry of a Legendary Land (Mainland China)
Choi Yoon-sun – Exhuma (South Korea)
Dorjee Dradhul Gurung – Shambhala (Nepal, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Qatar, Taiwan, Türkiye, United States)
Miyamoto Mari – Teki Cometh (Japan)
Bruce Yu, Karen Yip – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Huo Tingxiao, Li Chang – Black Dog (Mainland China)
Pham Phong Lan – Don’t Cry, Butterfly (Vietnam, Singapore, The Philippines, Indonesia)
Seo Sung-kyung – Exhuma (South Korea)
Hayashida Yuji – The Box Man (Japan)
Kenneth Mak, Chau Sai Hung Ambrose – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST EDITING
Clément Pinteaux – All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
Rithy Panh, Matthieu Laclau – Meeting With Pol Pot (Cambodia, France, Taiwan, Qatar, Türkiye)
William Chang Suk Ping – My Friend An Delie (Mainland China)
Jojo Shek – Papa (Hong Kong)
Cheung Ka Fai – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hong Kyeong-pyo – Harbin (South Korea)
Lv Songye – My Friend An Delie (Mainland China)
Aziz Zhambakiyev – Shambhala (Nepal, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Qatar, Taiwan, Türkiye, United States)
Shinomiya Hidetoshi – Teki Cometh (Japan)
Cheng Siu Keung – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Hi’Spec – All the Long Nights (Japan)
Kim Tae-sung – Exhuma (South Korea)
Katsumoto Michiaki – The Box Man (Japan)
Chu Wan Pin – The Last Dance (Hong Kong)
Kawai Kenji – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Danny Yin – Black Dog (Mainland China)
Sato Fumiro, Kobari Yasuhiro – Black Ox (Japan, Taiwan)
Tomi Kuo, Chiu Chun-Yi – Dead Talents Society (Taiwan)
Kim Shin-chul, Daniel Son – Exhuma (South Korea)
Lin Chun Yue Jules, Ma Siu Fu, Garrett K Lam, Yee Kwok Leung – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
BEST SOUND
Zurab Kurmanbayev – Cadet (Kazakhstan)
Kim Byung-in – Exhuma (South Korea)
Tu Duu-Chih, Tu Tse-Kang – Stranger Eyes (Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States)
Yiu Chun Hin, Cheung Man Hoi, To Burnard Davy – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
Vincent Villa – Viêt and Nam (The Philippines, France, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, Italy)
