Soul Mate leads the pack in Hong Kong’s Oscars as repeat of controversial win seems unlikely
Ten Years, a dystopian film which painted a grim picture of life in Hong Kong in 2025 under the Chinese rule, won last year and caused the ceremony’s live broadcast in China to be disrupted
The unexpected victory of a controversial hit, Ten Years, at last year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, is unlikely to be repeated this year as the nominations were revealed on Tuesday.
Soul Mate, a co-production directed by Tsang Kwok-cheung, son of renowned local actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai, has emerged as the front runner for the city’s equivalent of the Oscars, nominated for 12 awards. Its leading actresses Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun were both nominated for Best Actress.
Crime thriller Cold War 2, the mega-budget sequel to the 2013 best picture winner received 10 nominations, while comedy superstar Stephen Chow Sing-chi showed his enduring popularity with eight nominations for The Mermaid.
Director Yee Tung-shing, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association said the victory of Ten Years was “an emotional result” in response to mainland authorities.
The awards show was not broadcast live on the mainland for the first time last year following the nomination of the dystopian film which painted a grim picture of life in Hong Kong in 2025 under the Chinese rule. Mainland audiences should be able to watch a live broadcast of the show this year as political tensions have eased, Yee added.