HUAWEI Film Awards 2020 announced Singaporean Tong Khoon Mun as the grand winner with his short film Thief, bagging the cash prize of USD$20,000. Khoon Mun was selected out of 20 outstanding finalists by the judging panel made up of regional esteemed filmmakers with the likes of TV producer and screenwriter, Adele Lim, film director, Rajay Singh and more.
Taking Smartphone Films to the Next Level
Organised for the first time this year, HUAWEI Film Awards nurtured a group of creative talents – including award-winning filmmakers and content creators – to explore artistic possibilities in telling great stories with their Huawei smartphones. They utilised various filmography formats and content, presenting short films imbued with humour, philosophy, art, and emotion that run the gamut of the human condition.
Each participant applied their own perspective and style to interpret the theme ‘Empowering Your Possibilities’, resulting in a total of 107 submissions over the span of 2.5 months. Their high-quality work reinforced the impressive capabilities of Huawei smartphones in cinematography, particularly HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro.
Shot entirely using HUAWEI P30 Pro, “Thief” by Tong Khoon Mun is a short film that follows the journey of a young boy as he attempts to find ways to cover his monetary losses without getting caught by his mum.
Set in the heartlands of Singapore, the film uses shades of greens and browns to accentuate feelings of nostalgia. HUAWEI P30 Pro’s SuperSpectrum sensor brought these moments to life with its impressive low-light video recording when shooting in dark locations while the AI HDR+ tackles the backlight challenge, allowing light and colour to be balanced in different layers to bring the subject’s face into focus. Dramatic anchor moments of the lead character were further emphasized through the help of HUAWEI TOF Camera where the accurate measurement of the depth of subjects and AIS Long Exposure Shot allow scenes to have a professional-level background blurring with different creamy effects while still maintaining focus on boy’s eyes.
HUAWEI P30 Pro, engineered with advanced AI capabilities, carries a revolutionary new generation 40 million ultra-sensitive Leica with four cameras. The phone features Huawei ToF camera image system that supports double OIS optical anti-shake and AIS intelligent anti-shake, as well as 25 cm ultra-shake. HUAWEI P30 Pro also serves as a powerful video shooting equipment with its sophisticated imaging design and capabilities to support super-sensitive video, zoom video and double-view videos, empowering consumers to capture professional photos and videos effortlessly.
All winners, including APAC Best Director, APAC Best Cinematography, APAC Best Actor, and Country Level Best Film received a trophy and certificate each.
Here is the full list of winners from this year’s HUAWEI Film Awards:
- APAC Best Film: “Thief” by Tong Khoon Mun (Singapore)
- APAC Best Director: “Thief” by Tong Khoon Mun (Singapore)
- APAC Best Cinematography: “Arbeit Macht Frei” by Vasavas Bhangsa-ard (Thailand)
- APAC Best Actor: Vasavas Bhangsa-ard in “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Thailand)
Country Level Best Film
- Singapore: “Thief” by Tong Khoon Mun
- Thailand: “Arbeit Macht Frei” by Vasavas Bhangsa-ard
- Malaysia: “Running Without Wings” by Yim Wai Lup
- Indonesia: “Jalu” by Juhendi
- Laos: “Promise” by Chittixay Phommaseng
- Myanmar: “Unbreakable Bond” by Arkar Win
