M’sian Film The Garden Of Evening Mists Wins Best Feature Film 2020 At Asian Film Award

Big props to the team who made this a film such a huge success!

Rojak Daily/IMDb

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While some may underestimate the capabilities of our local film industry, the people behind the Malaysian historical-fiction film The Garden of Evening Mists have proved that locally made films are competitive on the global stage.

The film has officially bagged the Best Feature Film award at the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) during it’s virtual gala show last week.

In securing the title, The Garden of Evening Mists won against four other film nominations in the same category, such as Mariposa (Indonesia), Stranger’s House (Myanmar), Hello Love Goodbye (Philippines) and Dear Orange (Taiwan).

Adapted from the critically-acclaimed novel of the same name by Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng

The film is an adaptation of a book of the same name written by Malaysian Author Tan Twan Eng.

The film is based on a book of the same name written by Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng, which was also awarded the Man Asian Literary Prize (2012) and the Walter Scott prize for Historical Fiction.

The Garden of Evening Mists is actually Twan Eng’s second English-language novel which was first published in January 2012.

The book centres around protagonist Teoh Yun Ling, a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II who later becomes a judge overseeing war crime cases.

Malaysian actress Sinje Lee stars as a young Teoh Yun Ling. (Credit: TGOEM)

After the war, she seeks solace in the rolling hills of Cameron Highlands. There, she meets a Japanese gardener and serves as his apprentice to create a garden in loving memory of her sister, who was imprisoned with her at a labour camp and died.

The Garden of Evening Mists, The Film

Filmed in Malaysia, the movie is the result of a collaboration between teams across Southeast Asia.

It was produced by Astro Shaw and HBO Asia with the support from the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas) in association with South Korean production house, CJ Entertainment.

Directed by award-winning Taiwanese filmmaker Tom Lin Shu-yin with BAFTA-winning Rochard Smith as it’s screenwriter, the two-hour film features dialogue in English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Bahasa Malaysia.

The film also boasts a star-studded international cast, including Malaysian actress Sinje Lee (The Eye), Japanese actor Hiroshi Abe (After the Storm), Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang (Love Education).

Sinje Lee (left) and Hiroshi Abe (Right) star as Yun Ling and Nakamura Aritomo, the Japanese gardener. (Credit: TGOEM)

Additionally, British actors David Oakes (Cold Skin) and Julian Sands (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), and Scottish actor John Hannah (The Mummy) also held roles in the film.

Since it’s release in 2019, The Garden of Evening Mists’s film has already received a total of nine nominations for the 56th Golden Horse Awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup & Costume Design, Best Original Film Score, and Best Film Editing.

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