Ann Hui’s gritty drama The Way We Are scooped best director and three other prizes at the Hong KongFilm Awards last night, although the best film prize went to martial arts biopic Ip Man, produced byRaymond Wong and directed by Wilson Yip.

The Way We Are also picked up best screenplay, best actress for Paw Hee-ching and best supporting actress for Chan Lai-wun. The film revolves around residents of Tin Shui Wai, a town in Hong Kong’s New Territories dubbed the “City of Sadness” due to a string of domestic violence cases.

Mandarin Films’ Ip Man, based on the life story of Bruce Lee’s kung-fu master, also scooped the award for best action choreography. Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, who presented Josephine Siao with the Lifetime Achievement Award last night, is also preparing a film about Ip Man, although it promises to be very different in style to Yip’s film.

Nick Cheung picked up best actor and Liu Kai-chi took best supporting actor – both for Dante Lam’s acclaimed action title The Beast Stalker. Chinese child actress Xu Jiao was awarded best new performer for playing the son of Stephen Chow’s character in CJ7.

John Woo’s Red Cliff bagged the biggest amount of prizes, although these were all in the techical categories including best art direction and best costume & make-up design for Tim Yip, best sound design, best visual effects and best original score.

The 28th Hong Kong Film Awards, which were held Sunday, April 19 in the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, wrap up the month-long Hong Kong Entertainment Expo, which also included Filmart, the Asian Film Awards and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

Full list of winners:

Best film: Ip Man (prod: Raymond Wong / dir: Wilson Yip)

Best director: Ann Hui – The Way We Are

Best screenplay: Lou Shiu-wa – The Way We Are

Best actor: Nick Cheung – The Beast Stalker

Best actress: Paw Hee-ching – The Way We Are

Best supporting actor: Liu Kai-chi – The Best Stalker

Best supporting actress: Chan Lai-wun – The Way We Are

Best new performer: Xu Jiao – CJ7

Best cinematography: Arthur Wong – Painted Skin

Best film editing: Yau Chi-wai – Connected

Best art direction: Tim Yip – Red Cliff

Best costume & make-up design: Tim Yip – Red Cliff

Best action choreography: Sammo Hung & Tony Leung Siu-hung – Ip Man

Best sound design: Wu Jiang & Roger Savage – Red Cliff

Best visual effects: Craig Hayes – Red Cliff

Best original score: Taro Iwashiro – Red Cliff

Best original film song: Jane Zhang – Painted Skin

Best new director: Derek Kwok – The Moss

Best Asian film – Assembly

Lifetime Achievement Award: Josephine Siao Fong-fong

Professional Achievement Award: Ting Yu

Topics