'Darbareye Elly' (About Elly) Islamic Republic of Iran
Actress: Golshifteh Farahani
Golshifteh Farahani was born in Iran and was fourteen-years-old when she appeared in her first role in Dariush Mehrjui’s The Pear Tree, for which she won the Best Actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran. Since then, she has become one of the most renowned Iranian actresses and has appeared in 20 films including Bahman Ghobadi’s Half Moon, the late Rasool Mollagholipoor’s M for Mother and Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin. Her international breakthrough came in 2008 when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies. About Elly was the last film she completed in Iran. Her most recent film is the British production, There be Dragons by Roland Joffe, slated for release in 2010.
'Madeo' (Mother) Republic of Korea
Actress: Kim Hye-ja
Kim Hye-ja is the star of The Rustic Diary, one of the longest running and most beloved television series in Korean history (1980 – 2002). Her numerous television credits include Mom’s Dead Upset (2008), Chief Hong’s Autumn (2004) and Rose and the Beanstalk (1999). Her role in the 1982 feature film, Late Autumn, saw her receive the Best Actress award at the Manila Film Festival. For most Koreans, Kim Hye-ja is an icon of motherhood and its virtues, but Bong Joon-ho, the writer-director of Mother, saw another facet to the actress. He conceived the story of Mother to capture her little recognised psychological intensity and to illuminate the unseen power in the destructive side of her personality. With this film, the veteran actress has completely subverted the almost sacred maternal image she helped construct over the last 30 years and Bong Joon-ho has crafted the role of a lifetime for a great actress who has devoted her life to the craft.
'Akasa Kusum' (Flowers of the Sky) Sri Lanka / India
Actress: Malani Fonseka
With a career spanning more than four decades, Malani Fonseka is widely regarded as ‘the Queen of Sri Lankan cinema’. Starting out in stage productions, Fonseka made her feature film debut with Tissa Liyansuriya’s The Little Baby in 1968. She has starred in more than 150 feature films to date, not including her many television and stage appearances. Having worked with Sri Lanka’s finest directors, she has won accolades both locally and internationally. In addition to her acting career, Fonseka has also produced and directed several dramas for television.
'Volchok' (Wolfy) Russian Federation
Actress: Yana Troyanova
Wolfy marks an impressive feature film debut for Yana Troyanova. Her performance has been internationally acclaimed on the festival circuit and she received the award for Best Actress at the 2009 Kinotaur, also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival where Wolfy also won the Grand Jury Prize in a unanimous decision by the Jury.
‘Li Mi De Caixiang’ (The Equation of Life and Death) People's Republic of China (Mainland China / Hong Kong)
Actress: Zhou Xun
Internationally acclaimed Chinese actress and singer, Xun Zhou, made her screen debut in Strange Tales Amongst Old and Desolute Tombs in 1991. She has appeared in many films from both Mainland China and Hong Kong and gained international recognition for her roles in Suzhou River and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. She was highly acclaimed for her role in Peter Chan's 2005 musical film, Perhaps Love, for which she won the Best Actress award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Hong Kong Film Critic's Society Awards, the Golden Bauhinia Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. In 2005, she starred in Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet, and her singing was also featured in the film and on the soundtrack. This was followed by her portrayal of a maverick martial arts princess in Susie Au's Ming Ming which earned critical acclaim at the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival. She also plays the lead in Painted Skin, a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same name.