Project Gutenberg was the big winner at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday. A cops-and-robbers thriller, Project Gutenberg was nominated in a near-record 17 categories and took home seven awards, including best film, and best director and best screenplay for Felix Chong Man-keung.
 
Chong said he owed his success to a team of good actors and production team, without whose support, he said, “a director is nothing at all”. Commanding the spotlight though was Project Gutenberg, which revolves around a counterfeit-money gang.
 
The film, directed by Chong, was nominated in 17 categories, only missing out in the best new performer, and best new director categories because it was not eligible. It was also the second-most nominated film in the history of the awards, following Bodyguards and Assassins in 2009, with 18 nominations.
 
Chong said of the near-record nominations his film received: “It’s like we already won. Every one in the production did an excellent job.” It began the night picking up awards in best art direction (Eric Lam), best costume and makeup design (Man Lim-chung), best film editing (Curran Pang), and best cinematography (Jason Kwan).
 
The annual presentation was held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. This year’s theme was “Keep Rolling”. “We hope those in the industry to keep up their good work and there will be new faces coming up to produce fresh and creative films for the audience and let the camera keep rolling,” said Derek Yee Tung-sing, the chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association.
 
To live up to Yee’s promises, this year’s awards featured a line-up of 32 young and upcoming actors and actresses as the masters of ceremony.
 
 
38th HONG KONG FILM AWARDS WINNERS OF PROJECT GUTENBERG

Best Film: Project Gutenberg
Best Director: Felix Chong (Project Gutenberg)
Best Screenplay: Felix Chong (Project Gutenberg)
Best Cinematography: Jason Kwan (Project Gutenberg)
Best Film Editing: Curran Pang (Project Gutenberg)
Best Art Direction: Eric Lam (Project Gutenberg)
Best Costume & Makeup Design: Man Lim-chung (Project Gutenberg)