Necromancer and Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect at Asia-Pacific Fest

The 50th Asia-Pacific Film Festival was held in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend.

Three Thai films were on offer -- the heartwarming childhood friendship story involving a Downs syndrome boy, Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect; the occult thriller, Necromancer; and the slick ghost story, Shutter.

From what I gather, the festival is mainly an industry gathering where some films are nominated for awards.

Necromancer won for best special effects. Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect won a special jury award for highlighting the plight of special children.

The winners list is compiled from the Malay Mail:

• BEST FILM - Tae Guk Gi (Brotherhood of War), South Korea
• BEST DIRECTOR - Kang Je-Gyu, Tae Guk Gi, South Korea
• BEST ACTOR - Joo Hyun, A Family, South Korea
• BEST ACTRESS - Tiara Jacquelina, Puteri Gunung Ledang (The Princess of Mount Ledang), Malaysia
• BEST SCREENPLAY - Lim Chen Sheng, The Moon Also Rises, Taiwan
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Yves Cape, Buffalo Boy, Vietnam
• BEST EDITING - Yoga K Koesprato, Janji Joni, Indonesia
• BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS - Necromancer, Thailand
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Anthony Wong, Initial D, Hong Kong
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Rima Melati, Ungu Violet, Indonesia
• BEST ART DIRECTION - Tsuyoshi Shimizu, Samurai Commando Mission 1549, Japan
• BEST MUSIC SCORE - Ayob Ibrahim, Qaisy dan Laila, Malaysia
• BEST SHORT/DOCUMENTARY - Pua, Malaysia
• BEST ANIMATION - Fireball, Taiwan

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS

• Most Promising Young Talent - Actress Dian Sastrowardoyo, Ungu Violet and Banyu Biru, Indonesia
• Contribution to the International Success of Asian Films - Jackie Chan (not present for award), New Police Story, Hong Kong
• Awareness of the Impact of War on Humanity - The Path of Justice, Vietnam
• Consistently Excellent Performances - Yang Kuei Mei, The Wayward Cloud, Taiwan
• Highlighting the Plight of Special Children - Beautiful, Wonderful, Perfect, Thailand

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)