PUBLISHED ONDecember 01, 2025 12:50 PMBYEsther LamAfter decades in the entertainment industry, Hong Kong veteran actress Anita Yuen made her debut as a film award judge at Singapore's inaugural Golden Singa Awards.
At a press conference today (Dec 1), Anita spoke about her challenges on the jury.
"I often asked, 'Can we cast two votes? Could we award two winners?' Because it's my first time as a judge, I watched the films from a beginner's perspective of what I liked the most," said the 54-year-old.
She also shared that she enjoyed hearing the perspectives of her fellow jury members.
She said: "A lot of times, I looked at it from the perspective of an actress or audience member. During our discussions yesterday, we considered many aspects and after listening to some of the jury members, I changed my perspective."
She added: "There are certain aspects that the judges consider which actors don't have to. Fortunately, our president gave very clear answers on many occasions, so I didn't have a very big dilemma anymore."
Led by action star-director Donnie Yen, the jury also includes Hong Kong director Joe Cheung, Chinese director Li Shaohong and Hong Kong film art director Bill Lui.
In addition, Hollywood-based Chinese film producer Teddy Zee, Chinese actress Hao Lei, Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng and Taiwanese director-lyricist Vincent Fang are also on the jury panel.
The Golden Singa Awards ceremony is held tonight at the Capitol Theatre.
Reflecting on the judging process, Vincent also revealed that the jury had a closed-door meeting yesterday.
He said their mobile phones were "confiscated and cannot be brought in".
The 56-year-old added: "Most of the award winners are evenly matched and some of them are unmatchable, which are films loved by everyone.
"No matter whether it's a technical award or acting award, everyone discussed thoroughly and the judges were stringent in their selection... There are also some films which gained votes after judges who loved it convinced the other judges."
The Golden Singa Awards, organised by Singapore-based media and entertainment company NoonTalk Media, is an annual initiative aimed at recognising and honouring outstanding cinematic achievements in Chinese-language productions.
The inaugural ceremony is held in conjunction with the Singapore Media Festival hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Reflecting on his journey as a filmmaker, Donnie chose consistency, passion and drive as the most important factors.
"For the last few decades, I've been relentless in trying to follow my beliefs," the 62-year-old said. "I'm still finding my path. I'm still learning each day like a student. Every time I finish a film, I will look back and look at what I've done that could be even better next time."
He also shared a few words of wisdom for the next generation of aspiring filmmakers.
"Whether they're in front or behind of the camera, they have to believe in what they do — that's the most important, that's the first thing," he said.
"One film is not going to define your level of achievement. It's going to take multiple accomplishments."
"We still have a long way to go as Chinese filmmakers. We have to continue to make better, greater films so the world stage can recognise us as part of this demographic and industry," he added.
In conjunction with the awards, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore announced a strategic collaboration between Singapore and Hong Kong to foster new opportunities and facilitate exchanges for film professionals from both cities.
NoonTalk Media also entered into a strategic collaboration with two partners — Youth Drum ensemble and Haixi Yueyin — to promote Chinese traditional culture and global presence of guo feng (Chinese-style music).
The partnership focuses on talent development, culturally inspired performance content and use of innovative technologies.
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