9th annual Asian Film Awards held in Macao

Winners pose for photo at the award ceremony. (Photo/CNTV)

China took home awards for best director, best film and best actor at the 9th annual Asian Film Awards in Macao, which featured 74 nominees of 42 films from eight countries.

Hong Kong director Ann Hui won the Best Director award for her film, "The Golden Era", at the Asian Film Awards on Wednesday. Mainland film "Blind Massage" directed by Lou Ye took home the prize for best film.

"The Golden Era" was nominated in several categories and director Ann Hui said she was surprised about winning.

"I'm very honoured, I feel that I don't quite deserve it. But, nonetheless if it's for me, I'll try to be positive about it and try to work harder," she said.

The director spoke about how Chinese film-making is stepping into the international spotlight but said there are still obstacles ahead.

"I think things are going well in the sense that it's very, very active and film people are very excited about making films and the audience just want to watch more. Obviously there will be difficulties like all the money coming in and lots of people being involved and some people may not be very professional because everybody wants to be in that business. Also there's censorship, a lot of subjects are...we are not able to shoot any subject we like. But I'm sure the whole thing is positive," she said.

Mainland actor Liao Fan won the best actor prize for his role in the Hong Kong film, "Black Coal, Thin Ice". South Korean actress Bae Doo-na took home Best Actress for her performance in "A Girl At My Door".

Celebrities and directors of Asia's film industry gathered to walk the red carpet at Asia's gambling hub on Wednesday evening.

Fans lined the carpet to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. Korean pop group "Infinite", who presented an award and performed, drew deafening screams from teenagers.

The awards show featured 74 nominees. 42 films from eight countries competed at the awards.

A number of films nominated have been featured at major international film festivals, including "The Golden Era", "Blind Massage", and "Coming Home".

Aaron Kwok, who was on the judging panel this year, said the Asian Film Awards have grown over the past few years.

"Actually, it's good for South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. So I think that in the future it's going to be bigger and bigger. And actually it's already very international," he said.

South-Korean film director Im Kwon-taek was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for his career and his contribution to the Asian film industry.