Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be honored twice over at Sunday’s Asian Film Awards ceremony.
Zhang will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023, Full River Red.
“These two awards are not only a testament to Zhang’s extraordinary achievements, but also to his continued success, having won the Asian Film Contribution Award at the 4th AFAs in 2010 and the Best Director award at the 15th Asian Film Awards in 2021 for ‘One Second’,” AFA organizers said.
Zhang also recently received lifetime honors at the Tokyo International Film Festival and a box office achievement award at CineAsia.
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“I consider myself very fortunate to have chosen filmmaking as my lifelong profession. Having been in the industry for over four decades, I am grateful to everyone who appreciates my films [..] I will keep learning and strive to surpass myself. Always having anticipations for the future, I hope that my best film will be my next one,” said Zhang in a statement.
Full River Red is set during the Southern Song Dynasty, balancing mystery and comedy as it follows the journey of two soldiers entangled in a conspiracy while investigating the murder of a messenger from a rival dynasty.
The film premiered in January last year, dominating the Lunar New Year box office in China. Its worldwide earnings reportedly reached $667 million, solidifying its position as the top-grossing Asian film of the year and ranking eighth globally.
Zhang’s earlier work includes Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qiu Ju, To Live, Not One Less, and The Road Home.
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He also served as director for Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, and The Great Wall. Zhang received backlash for casting Matt Damon as the star of The Great Wall, with critics lambasting the film for whitewashing.
The Asian Film Awards will be held on Sunday at the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District.
