![Benjamin Kramer Headshot Photo Credit_CAA[40][40]](https://d1nslcd7m2225b.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/6/6/4/1455664_benjaminkramerheadshotphotocredit_caa4040_107707.jpeg)
Taiwan drama Family Matters and Hong Kong’s The Way We Talk have won the top awards at the 24th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).
Family Matters picked up the Uncaged Award for best feature film in the festival’s main competition.
It marks the feature directorial debut of Pan Ke-Yin and explores the life of a working class Taiwan family over four time periods. The film received its world premiere at Osaka Asian Film Festival in March and is an extension of Pan’s 2021 Golden Horse-nominated short film My Sister.
The filmmaker was on hand to collect the prize at the festival’s closing ceremony, held at New York’s SVA Theatre, on Sunday (July 27).
The jury praised the film for its “non-chronological biography of a family told from four perspectives, employing smart editing to delicately layer themes of shame and secrecy.”
The jury comprised Japanese-US actress Masumi, veteran Hong Kong-US actor Tzi Ma, Hong Kong-based producer Michael Werner, Malaysian actor Yao (Sinners) and Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter, Pee Mak).
Two special jury awards were presented to Vietnamese transgender drama Skin Of Youth by Ash Mayfair and Chinese comedy-drama Green Wave by Xu Lei, which previously won best actor and a jury award at Pingyao International Film Festival.
The NYAFF 2025 audience award went to The Way We Talk, the latest from Hong Kong director Adam Wong. The coming-of-age drama, which follows three young deaf people in Hong Kong, previously won best actress for rising star Chung Suet Ying at the Golden Horse Awards.
Winners of the shorts showcase were Good Mourning by Japan’s Nina Tsuji, Sammi Who Can Detach His Body Parts from Indonesia’s Rein Maychaelson and Finding The Rainbow by South Korea’s Hwanga Yang.
Samuel Jamier, NYAFF president of the New York Asian Film Foundation, said: “This year’s New York Asian Film Festival proved that Asian cinema is doing more than just keeping pace with the times, it is helping define them, often in ways that are more urgent and profound than what we see in American film.
“The stories we championed remind us that storytelling across cultures is translation and dialogue – one that challenges, provokes, and connects us in unexpected ways.”
NYAFF ran for 17 days from July 11-27, screening its biggest ever selection of more than 100 titles, and closed with the international premiere of Flower Girl by Filipino director Fatrick Tabada. The festival was co-presented by the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center.
No comments yet