Hello Ajoomma: Hong Huifang bags first Best Actress nomination at Golden Horse Awards

TAIPEI - Hong Huifang is the first Singaporean actress to be nominated for Best Leading Actress at this year's Golden Horse Awards for her role in upcoming local film Ajoomma.

The 61-year-old star, who is up for Best Leading Actress at the annual Taiwan film awards, said in a statement: “2022 has been exceptionally fulfilling. We shot Ajoomma at the beginning of the year, the movie got selected for the upcoming Busan International Film Festival and now I received the prestigious Golden Horse nomination. I am very humbled.”

This is the Mediacorp veteran’s first lead role in a feature film. She is up against Taiwanese actresses Sylvia Chang (A Light Never Goes Out) and Tsai Hsuan-yen (Incantation), Hong Kong model-actress Angela Yuen (The Narrow Road) and Chinese actress Cya Liu (Limbo). The nominations were announced on Tuesday (Sept 27).

Ajoomma, about a middle-aged widow (Hong) on a solo adventure in South Korea, is up for four awards in total, including Best Supporting Actor for Jung Dong-hwan and Best New Director for local writer-director He Shuming.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CjAa8ssKfDd/?hl=en[/embed]Ajoomma is He’s feature directorial debut and he also scored a nomination for Best Original Screenplay alongside his co-writer Kris Ong. 

He said: “I’m speechless still. It’s been six years of hard work and we couldn’t have done it without the support of so many people around us. I’m so happy for Huifang and Mr Jung - such deserving nominations.”

The Singapore-South Korean co-production, which opens here on Oct 27, also stars Korean actors Kang Hyung-suk and Yeo Jin-goo, as well as local actor Shane Pow. It will hold its world premiere on Oct 7 at the Busan International Film Festival.

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Ajoomma is produced by Singaporean film-maker Anthony Chen, who made history at the Golden Horse Awards in 2013 with his debut feature film Ilo Ilo by becoming the first Singaporean to win Best Film and Best New Director.

Chen also won Best Original Screenplay, while Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.

Yeo went on to win Best Leading Actress in another of Chen’s movies, Wet Season, in 2019.

If Hong takes home the award on Nov 19, she will be the first Singaporean to win Best Leading Actress.

However, in an interview with entertainment portal 8world shortly after the nominations were announced, she confessed that she did not think she would stand a chance against screen legend Chang, who has been her idol since she was young. Chang has been nominated 10 times in that category and won twice.

Hong said: “The most important thing is that I was nominated. It is already a huge encouragement and an honour. Personally speaking, I’m already very satisfied.”

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Akuk8w-U4[/embed]

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.