China's "Blind Massage" was named Best Film at the 9th Asian Film Awards held in Macao on Wednesday and the Best Director went to Ann Hui from "The Golden Era." "Gone With the Bullets" led the award ceremony with three technical awards.

"Blind Massage" by Lou Ye won the Best Film Award at the ceremony, while the film portraying the life of a group of blind massagers also won the Best Cinematographer Award, which went to Zeng Jian.

Ann Hui won Best Director for the writer Xiao Hong's epic biopic "The Golden Era." The film also won Best Supporting Actor for Wang Zhiwen for his enthralling performance portraying one of the greatest Chinese writers, Lu Xun.

Jiang Wen's controversial movie "Gone with the Bullets" won the most awards at the ceremony, but all three of the awards were in technical categories, including Best Costume Designer, Best Production Designer and Best Visual Effects.

Best Actor went to Liao Fan for his portrayal of a policeman turned alcoholic security guard in "Black Coal, Thin Ice." Liao also took the Best Actor Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014. "Black Coal, Thin Ice" also won Best Screenwriter for Diao Yinan, also the director of the film.

The Best Newcomer Award went to Zhang Huiwen, who acted in Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home."

Chinese actors and filmmakers swept 10 out of the 16 awards.

South Korea's Bae Doo-na took home the Best Actress award for her role in "A Girl At My Door." Best Supporting Actress went to Japan's Ikewaki Chizuru for her role in "The Light Shines Only There."

India's Mikey McCleary won Best Composer for "Margarita, with a Straw," and Best Editor went to Indonesia's Gareth Evans for "The Raid 2: Berandal."

Two special awards were handed out. The Lifetime Achievement Award this year went to South Korea's Im Kwon-taek, who is called the "Godfather of Korean Cinema" for his prolific output. He is still active in a career that has spanned over half a century. Japan's Nakatani Miki, one of the most all-rounded and popular performers in Asia, was given the Excellence in Asian Cinema award as during her career she has published nine books, released seven music albums, acted in 40 TV drama series and more than 30 films.

Inaugurated in 2007, the Asian Film Awards (AFA) celebrates excellence in Asian cinema through the annual presentation of awards. This year, 74 nominations of 42 films from eight countries are standing for the 9th Asian Film Awards. The organizers received over a thousand eligible films from 34 countries across Asia. The wide range of styles show the diversity, creativity and vitality of the region's cinema.

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