VOICE OF SILENCE Scores Multiple Wins at AFAs 

Taking place for the second time in Busan, alongside the Busan International Film Festival, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) staged their 15th edition on Friday, October 8 at the Paradise Hotel on Haeundae Beach.

Lee Byunghyun was crown with the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award in recognition for his enormous contribution to Asian cinema throughout his illustrious career. 

Lee previously won the Best Actor Award twice at the AFAs for Woo Minho’s Inside Men (2015) and also Woo’s next film The Man Standing Next (2020). He was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Kim Jeewoon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008). Lee is the first Korean figure to earn the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award.

Meanwhile, Wife of a Spy, from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa, took home the night’s Best Film Award, while Chinese director Zhang Yimou won the Best Director Award for his latest film One Second.

The big local prize winner was Hong Euijeong’s black comedy Voice of Silence, which earned Hong the Best New Director Award and its star Yoo Ahin the Best Actor Award. Korean actor Kim Hyunbin also picked up the Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the Taiwanese film The Silent Forest.

Lee Byunghun, Yoo Ahin, Jun Jongseo, Park Jungmin, Jang Yoonju, Kim Hyunbin and Gong Seungyeon were among the stars to grace the red carpet of the AFAs in Busan, along with this year’s jury president, director Lee Changdong.