The Chinese TV series Blossoms Shanghai, directed by renowned Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, clinched two major awards at this year’s Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards in Busan on Sunday. The 30-episode series, set against the backdrop of 1990s Shanghai, portrays a young man’s rise in the business world during China’s economic boom. It earned the Best Creative Award, which honors the most exceptional content.
Additionally, Blossoms Shanghai received the award for Best Lead Actor at the ceremony, which was held at the Busan Cinema Center as part of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), running through Friday.
The series has enjoyed widespread popularity since its December release on Tencent Video, marking Wong Kar-wai’s first foray into television. Adapted from an award-winning novel of the same name, the series is notable for its use of the Shanghainese dialect, which has been praised for authentically capturing the essence of the city’s culture.
Chinese actor Hu Ge, who plays the lead role in Blossoms Shanghai, accepted both awards on behalf of the series and read a message from Wong. “Blossoms Shanghai is my first series, and it took me 10 years from inception to completion. Every step was filled with challenges, but I firmly believe in the power of film and television to transcend language barriers and reach across time and borders,” Wong said in the message. He expressed hope that audiences worldwide would resonate with the story, set in China three decades ago, and find its depiction of life deeply moving.
Hu Ge, honored as Best Lead Actor, spoke during the ceremony, crediting the creative journey of Blossoms Shanghai for its success.
Other contenders for the Best Creative Award included series from Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and two South Korean series, A Killer Paradox and Daily Dose of Sunshine.
Taiwan’s Imperfect Us, which led with five nominations across the 11 competitive categories, won Best Lead Actress and Best Original Song, a newly introduced category. Ariel Lin, who won Best Lead Actress, expressed her gratitude, saying, “I believe that a good script allows people to feel understood and can be highly inspirational.”
Korean productions also garnered multiple accolades. The Korean show Boyhood received the Best OTT Original Award, recognizing its popularity and quality. Actors Ahn Jae-hong and Yeom Hye-ran from Netflix’s Mask Girl won Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively.
The Korean romance fantasy series The Atypical Family earned the Best Writer Award, while Netflix’s Parasyte: The Grey took home the Best Visual Effects Award.
Kazakhstan’s 1286 won the award for Asian Best Content, and Indonesia’s first Netflix original series, Cigarette Girl, secured Best Director after being nominated in the Best Creative category.
This year’s awards saw 201 submissions from 16 countries, with 41 finalists from 10 countries competing across 11 categories. The newly introduced People’s Choice Award, which attracted around 600,000 global fan votes, was awarded to Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok from the romance drama Lovely Runner.
Launched in 2019, the Asia Contents Awards recognize excellence in television, streaming, and web content. Last year, the event expanded its scope, renaming itself the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards to honor global content.
The event was co-hosted by actors Kang Ki-young and Tiffany Young. Kang is best known for his role in Korea’s hit series Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which won Best Content at last year’s awards.
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