Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai (left) and South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon pose backstage with their trophies at the 2nd Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong March 17, 2008. Leung won the Best Actor award for the film "Lust, Caution" and Jeon won the Best Actress award for the film "Secret Sunshine". (Reuters)

HONG KONG (AP) -- "Secret Sunshine," the South Korean story of a widow's mental breakdown, won big at the 2nd Asian Film Awards announced in Hong Kong, bagging best movie, best director and best actress for Jeon Do-yeon.
The best actor honor at the awards ceremony Monday night went to Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung Chiu-wai for his performance in the Ang Lee spy thriller "Lust, Caution."
In "Secret Sunshine," Jeon plays Shin-ae, a widow who moves to her husband's hometown to start afresh after his death in a traffic accident. Instead, she has to face the kidnapping and murder of her son.
Jeon won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival last year for her performance.
Both Jeon and director Lee Chang-dong told reporters Monday that Shin-ae's role posed a tough challenge.
"I don't usually need time to recover from most of the roles I portray. But this time, because my character was so damaged, it took some time to recover from it," Jeon said through a translator.
Meanwhile, best actor winner Leung was faced with questions about "Lust, Caution" co-star Tang Wei.
Chinese media have reported recently that regulators have ordered TV stations in Beijing and Shanghai to stop reporting on Tang and to pull any advertisements featuring the actress.
The reason for the ban, which has not been officially announced, was not immediately clear.
"Lust, Caution" has drawn attention because it portrays explicit sex and politically sensitive material. An edited version of the movie released in China became a box office hit.
In the movie, Tang plays a student activist who seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence official in World War II-era Shanghai to pave the way for his assassination.
Ang Lee has criticized the reported ban. Leung also defended Tang on Monday.
"Tang Wei is a very professional actress. In the movie, she just fulfilled her duty as an actress," he said.
Best supporting actress went to veteran Joan Chen for "The Sun Also Rises" and China's Sun Honglei won best supporting actor for "Mongol."
In awards announced earlier, the lifetime achievement award went to Japanese director Yoji Yamada.
Organizers paid tribute to late Taiwanese-American director Edward Yang by showing clips from his movies. Yang died in late June from complications from colon cancer.
The Asian Film Awards is organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

source-mainichi