Ten Years, a dystopian film banned in mainland China about Hong Kong's grim future under Beijing's tightening grip, wins Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards, while crime thriller Port of Call sweeps seven prizes including all acting awards. EDITORS NOTE: RESENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT SHOWS: HONG KONG, CHINA (APRIL 3, 2016) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) A Hong Kong film portraying a dystopian future under Chinese Communist Party rule won one of Asia's top film awards on Sunday (April 3) at a time when Beijing's attempts to rein in the city's democratic development have stoked growing political tensions. "Ten Years", a feature length film comprised of five short vignettes depicting a dark vision of the city in 2025 has proven to be a surprise hit, striking a public chord nearly 16 months after tens of thousands blocked roads across the city as part of an "Occupy Central" civil disobedience movement to demand China's leaders allow full democracy in 2017. The low-budget, independent film brushed off competition from commercial hits like martial arts flick Ip Man 3. The movie's executive producer, Andrew Choi, said the recognition reminds him there is still hope in Hong Kong. "This award tells us there is still hope in Hong Kong. We have very limited budget in this production. The award reminds us to be humble, continue to work hard and produce movies with heart and courage," Choi said. Scenes include those of an old woman setting herself alight before Hong Kong's British Consulate and Hong Kong kids dressed in military uniforms policing adults in scenes echoing child "Red Guards" from China's fraught 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. One of the film's five directors, Chow Kwun-wai, said the movie represents the Hong Kong people's fear towards China on the big screen. "Ten Years exposed the fear of Hong Kong people. But I think at this moment, Ten Years also provided Hong Kong people and us a chance to show that we have no fear. People in the movie industry gave Ten Years the best film award to express their position. This is the thing that touched me the most," Chow said. Few, including the film's directors, had expected Ten Years to win given its political undertones and dystopian vision. Speaking on the red carpet before the prize-giving ceremony, Choi told Reuters it was an honour to be nominated. "I think the most important thing is Hong Kong people will concern about the future. I think this is the whole objective of our film. But we're honoured to be here tonight," Choi said. Crime thriller Port of Call, based on a true murder case where a young prostitute was killed and dismembered, emerged as the big winner of the night, sweeping seven awards including all trophies in the acting categories. Pop-star turned actor Aaron Kwok, who played a detective, won Best Actor for the first time. Newcomer Jessie Li, the victim in the movie, snatched Best Actress upon being nominated for the first time. Theatre actor Michael Ning who played the murderer went home with two awards - Best Supporting Actor and Best New Performer. 61-year-old Taiwanese actress Elaine Jin, in the role of the victim's mother, won Best Supporting Actress. Philip Yung, the movie's director, lost Best Director to veteran movie-maker Tsui Hark, but won Best Screenplay. The film's cinematographer, Australian-Hong Kong Chinese Christopher Doyle, who once won the technical grand prize at Cannes Film Festival, also took home Best Cinematography. After the awards, a few Chinese media portals including Tencent and Sina omitted any mention of Ten Years as best picture winner while reporting on other results of the night. Media in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. have reported that state-run China Central Television and Chinese social media and online entertainment company Tencent, who hold the rights to broadcast the awards decided not to beam it to mainland China. People across Hong Kong, which reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, have in recent months thronged to cinemas and open-air screenings to watch the controversial film. China's state-controlled Global Times denounced "Ten Years" in a January editorial as absurd and pessimistic and said it was a "thought virus". Soon after, screenings of the film stopped in Hong Kong cinemas. Cinema operators told the film-makers they could no longer show it because of scheduling issues. The scenes, while fictional, underscore tension simmering between mainland China and Hong Kong, that have resulted in a recent riot and growing grassroots calls by radical protests for greater autonomy and even independence from China.

• published: 04 Apr 2016
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