BANKNOTE forgery drama “Project Gutenberg” swept the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards, taking home seven statuettes including for best film, cinematography, art direction, costume and makeup design, film editing and director and screenplay for writer-helmer Felix Chong.

Chong, who won the best new director award for “Once a Gangster” in 2011, is famed for his scriptwriting work with long-time collaborator Alan Mak on “Infernal Affairs” and he has been nominated nine times in the best screenplay category. “Project Gutenberg,” which took 13 years to make to the big screen, marked his third win as screenwriter and the first time he was awarded as the sole writer.

Starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok, “Project Gutenberg” received 17 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and grossed US$187 million in China last year.

Besides “Project Gutenberg,” this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards recognized the talents of emerging directors. All the acting category award winners, bar best actress, won for performances in films by first-time directors.

Anthony Wong, who has previously been named best actor for his work in films, on television, and on the stage, was crowned best actor for his portrayal of a wheelchair-bound man who needed around-the-clock care in “Still Human,” the directorial debut of Oliver Chan, who also won best new director at the awards. It was the fifth time Wong has been honored with a Hong Kong Film Award, as he has garnered the best actor accolade for “The Untold Story” in 1994 and “Beast Cops” in 1999, and best supporting actor award for “Infernal Affairs” in 2003 and “Initial D” in 2006. Filipino actress-singer Crisel Consunji, who played the domestic worker who looked after Wong’s character in the film, received the best new performer award.

Likewise, the best supporting actor and actress winners shone in a film by a first time director. Acting veterans Kara Wai and Ben Yuen were named best supporting actress and supporting actors, respectively, for their work in transgender drama “Tracey” by helmer Jun Li. Kara Wai has been presented with five Hong Kong Film Awards before, including the first-ever best actress award at the inaugural edition in 1982 for “My Young Auntie.”

Meanwhile, Chinese actress Chloe Maayan was named best actress for her first starring role, in director Fruit Chan’s “Three Husbands,” the concluding chapter of his “prostitute trilogy.”

The year 2018 was a difficult year for the Hong Kong film industry, with only 54 homegrown films released. But the bright side was that a third of the films were by new directors.

Both Kara Wai and Anthony Wong spoke about giving fledgling filmmakers a hand in their acceptance speeches. Wai urged her filmmaking colleagues to support new directors for the ongoing survival of the local film industry, while Wong talked about forgoing his paycheck to star in “Still Human,” which was made with a HK$3.25 million (US$418,000) budget under the government-sponsored First Film Initiative.         (SD-Agencies)