Following the announcement of nominations on February 10, the Hong Kong Film Awards have released a new set of portraits featuring this year’s shortlisted contenders in major categories, including Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best New Director.

The 19th Asian Film Awards brought together leading stars and rising talents, with Zhang Ziyi receiving top honours while Liu Haoran and Terrance Lau captured the spotlight amid a weekend of screenings, talks, and cultural exchange.

“I love being a dragon,” Liann Zhang says when the subject of the Chinese zodiac comes up. “It’s this random mystical beast in the middle of it all. I feel very powerful.”

Dragons, she adds, are brave and up for adventure, qualities that suit anyone writing a novel. Zhang just did. At just 23, she’s already seeing her debut thriller, Julie Chan is Dead, become one of the buzziest Canadian novels of the year, thanks in part to its setting in the murky world of influencers. The title is a tease; the story is even sharper.

During a break from her flight schedule in 2008, Skye Chan spotted a television advertisement for Miss Hong Kong pageant entrants. Most flight attendants might have dismissed the idea immediately. Chan had built her reputation on efficiency and professionalism, not the polished glamour typically associated with beauty competitions.

Yet something about the opportunity intrigued her. At twenty-three, Chan knew the eligibility cutoff of twenty-four made this her only opportunity to apply, so she downloaded the form and asked her mother to be her nominee. “You never know until you take a step forward,” she says.

Chan had no illusions about her chances. 

Breaking box office records within just 60 days and surpassing the milestone held for nearly 18 years by Cape No. 7《海角七號》, the Taiwanese hit Sunshine Women’s Choir《陽光女子合唱團》has become the first film in Taiwan’s history to exceed NT$700 million at the box office.

On screen, Huang sat in a softly lit room at home, framed by an intricately carved wooden cabinet, its surface etched with ancient figures and traditional buildings. She smiled, glanced back at the cabinet and let the moment linger. 

Off camera, one can imagine that cabinet, rich with the charm of Chinese design, has witnessed many changing seasons since her arrival in Toronto from Shanghai nearly a decade ago. It seems to speak for itself: solid, silent and carrying its own history into a new country where Huang has built a new life.