Lee Chang-dong bested both Peter Chan ('Warlords') and favorite Ang Lee ('Lust, Caution') with his film about a widow (Jeon) who tries to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. 'Lust, Caution' had done well at last December's Chinese Language Golden Horse Awards held in Taiwan, but last night only took one award - Best Actor for leading man Tony Leung, who beat out Jet Li for the nod.
'Warlords' took only one prize - best visual effects for Ng Yuen-fai. 'Help Me Eros', 'Om Shanti Om, 'Mad Detective' and 'The Sun Also Rises' also took one prize each.
Japanese film maker Yamada Yoji ('Twilight Samurai') recieved a lifetime achievement award from presenter Hou Hsieh-hsin, who he bestowed the award to the year before at the inaugural awards event. Hou was accompanied by famed actress Hsu Chi on the red carpet, Hsu has been described as Hou's 'muse' due to the number of his top films she has appeared in.
