The 39th Golden Rooster Awards took place in Xiamen, bringing together some of the biggest names in the Chinese film industry and two first time nominees, taking home the top prize.
Tony Leung Ka-fai took home Best Actor for The Shadow’s Edge at age 68. This marked his first Golden Rooster nomination and victory. Having received several major acting honors throughout his career, the veteran actor is now the next Hong Kong star to achieve the so-called “Grand Slam of Chinese-language Cinema,” which refers to winning the three major film awards: the Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Horse Awards and Golden Rooster Awards. Furthermore, Tony Leung Ka-fai has already won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards five times, with his victories spanning five different decades.
Gao Ye won Best Actress for her performance in Dead to Rights. Competing against strong nominees, including Zhang Zifeng and Song Jia, she secured the award on her first nomination. During her acceptance speech, the 38-year-old actress described her win as a dream finally becoming reality after 20 years in the entertainment industry. She also thanked her mother and the audience for helping keep an important part of history alive through cinema. Other winners included Lan Xiya, who received Best Supporting Actress, and Wu Shuer Sailai, who won Best Supporting Actor. Best Feature Film went to Dead to Rights.
