Preview: AACAs’ 2025 National Winners Conference & Grand Awards Gala

After announcing a record number of National Winners in September, the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACAs) will be hosting the National Winners Conference on December 3 and 4, featuring a variety of spotlights and roundtables, at Baker McKenzie in Singapore. The Grand Awards Gala—crowning the best of the best in Asia—will take place on the evening of December 4 at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre.

The annual event will kick off on December 3 at 9:30 a.m. with a keynote from Paramount’s Beverley McGarvey, who serves as chairperson of the AACAs. During the National Winners announcement, she noted that the “region is sending the world a strong message this year via the Asian Academy Creative Awards, with a record number of entries, a record number of judges for the National Round—up 30 percent on last year—and a record number of companies entering, 176 in all.”

There are 331 National Winners across 16 countries in the running for the Grand Awards, “making this the biggest showcase of Asia-Pacific content in the world,” McGarvey said. “For buyers, distributors, casting and talent agents and co-producers, this is a truly one-stop curation for the best our region has to offer.”

As micro-dramas nab more and more viewers around the world—one in ten internet users report having watched drama episodes lasting ten minutes or less according to a recent global survey by Ampere Analysis—one of the highlights of the conference will be a roundtable on these short-form programs. Michael McKay, president of the Asian Academy of Creative Arts, will be moderating the session, titled “Hooked in Seconds—What Creators Must Know for Micro-Drama Success.” It will take place on December 3 at 3:45 p.m.

Also throughout day one of the conference, there will be discussions with National Winners covering documentary and factual, animation and VFX, feature film and single drama/telenovela, general entertainment and non-scripted, formats and global partnerships, comedy and short-form, plus those whose projects shone in the OTT space.

There will also be plenty of networking opportunities, with time set aside on December 3 for a networking lunch at 12:30 p.m., a networking coffee break at 3:30 p.m. and a slot at 4:30 p.m. to meet with global buyers and partners.

Day two of the National Winners Conference will feature sessions that honor the AACAs’ most outstanding dramatic productions, most outstanding directors and most outstanding performances. The conference will conclude at 1 p.m.

The Asian Academy of Creative Arts will be moving the festivities to the Capitol Theatre for a red carpet event from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., following by the Grand Awards Gala at 6:30 p.m.

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is among the global stars who will be in attendance. Representing Australia for her Emmy-nominated role in Disclaimer, she is among the 13 nominees in the best actress in a leading role category. The Philippines’ Jodi Sta. Maria (Untold), 2022 winner of the award, is also in the running, potentially scoring a rare second win.

The other nominees in the category are Chinese Mainland’s Bai Lu (Feud), Hong Kong’s Kelly Fu (D.I.D. 12), India’s Neena Gupta (Panchayat), Indonesia’s Megan Domani (Sugar Daddy), Japan’s Yuriyan Retriever (The Queen of Villains), Korea’s Minha Kim (Pachinko), Malaysia’s Michelle Yim (The Great Resonance), Myanmar’s Yamin May Oo (Unbreakable Vows), Singapore’s Jesseca Liu (Emerald Hill—The Little Nyonya Story), Taiwan’s Cheryl Yang (Born for the Spotlight) and Thailand’s Janeyeh Jiranorraphat (Mad Unicorn).

Among the 12 nominees in the best actor in a leading role category are Australia’s Jacob Elordi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Chinese Mainland’s Li Xian (A Love Never Lost), Hong Kong’s Owen Cheung (Anonymous Signal), India’s Zahan Kapoor (Black Warrant), Indonesia’s Arya Saloka (Lembayung), Japan’s Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Bullet Train Explosion), Korea’s Park Bo-gum (When Life Gives You Tangerines), Malaysia’s Dato’ Hilal Azman (Memori), the Philippines’ Dennis Trillo (Green Bones), Singapore’s Richie Koh (Coded Love), Taiwan’s Vic Chou (The World Between Us: After the Flames) and Thailand’s Natara Nopparatayapon (Mad Unicorn).

There is a 13-way battle in the coveted best drama series category, with Netflix nabbing three nominations. Contenders are Curio Pictures’ The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Australia), iQIYI’s Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty: To the West (Chinese Mainland), Viu TV’s What If (Hong Kong), Prime Video’s Suzhal—The Vortex (India), Vidio’s Malam Pertama (First Night) (Indonesia), TV Tokyo’s Please Die My Beloved (Japan), Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines (Korea), Viu’s The Secret (Malaysia), CANAL+ Myanmar’s Unbreakable Vows (Myanmar), ABS-CBN Studios’ Incognito (Philippines), Mediacorp’s Emerald Hill—The Little Nyonya Story (Singapore), Netflix’s Born for the Spotlight (Taiwan) and Netflix’s Mad Unicorn (Thailand). Thailand is the reigning champion.

Netflix dominates the scripted categories for India and Thailand, with Black Warrant collecting six National Wins, despite missing out on best drama.

Australia’s How to Make Gravy garnered three National Wins for best screenplay, best feature film and best actor in a supporting role. It will feature stiff competition in the feature film category, going up against movies from Chinese Mainland (MuMu), India (Stolen), Indonesia (Lembayung), Japan (Bullet Train Explosion), Malaysia (Blood Brothers: Bara Naga), the Philippines (Isang Himala (A Miracle)) and Taiwan (Though Dead, Still Alive).

Another title of note is the Indian adaptation of The Traitors, which scored four National Wins and is hoping to emulate the format’s recent Emmy success in the U.S. The Indian version is competing in the categories for best adaptation of an existing format (non-scripted), best direction (non-fiction), best entertainment host and best original production by a streamer (non-fiction).

The full list of National Winners can be found on the Asian Academy Creative Awards’ website. The ultimate winners of each category will be crowned at the Grand Awards Gala ceremony on December 4.