“Thief”’ by Singaporean Tong Khoon Mun awarded APAC Best Film, wins USD20,000

HUAWEI Film Awards 2020 announces Singaporean Tong Khoon Mun as the grand winner with his short film “Thief”, bagging the cash prize of USD20,000.

Khoon Mun was selected out of 20 outstanding finalists. The winners were determined by a panel of esteemed judges which include:

• Adele Lim – TV producer and screenwriter
• Chris Humphrey – Head of Production of A+E Networks Asia
• Rajay Singh – film director
• Prabda Yoon – screenwriter and filmmaker
• Alex Lin – APAC President of Huawei Consumer Business Group

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.

Each participant applied their own perspective and style to interpret the theme ‘Empowering Your Possibilities’, resulting in a total of 107 submissions over a span of 2.5 months.

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.

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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.

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

For more information on HUAWEI Film Awards, please visit the official website.