Japan dominates the winners' podium at third annual Asian Film Awards

Japanese cinema dominated last night's third Asian Film Awards at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, taking best film, best director and best actor, among other titles.

Tokyo Sonata, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, was the biggest winner, taking best film and best screenwriter. Japanese star Masahiro Motoki won best actor for his performance in Departures, which won best foreign language film award at the Oscars.

Receiving the award from renowned American actor William Hurt and Swiss producer Arthur Cohn, Motoki could not hide his excitement. 'I'm so surprised,' he said.

Best director went to Still Walking director Hirokazu Koreeda, who received the trophy from American director Oliver Stone and actress-turned-director Joan Chen. Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki's music partner Joe Hisaishi won best composer for his cheery tunes in Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Mainland star Zhou Xun was presented with the best actress award for The Equation of Love and Death by director John Woo and mainland actor Hu Jun. The petite 32-year-old star delivered an emotional acceptance speech in Putonghua. 'This is a role that I really wanted to play,' Zhou said as tears welled in her eyes.

South Korean heart-throb Jung Woo-sung was named best supporting actor for his performance in The Good, the Bad and the Weird, beating Nick Cheung of Beast Stalker, Hong Kong's only hope in the category. The 35-year-old star said he would celebrate at the after-awards party.