Chinese singer and actor Wen Junhui (文俊辉) has been lauded for his foray into acting at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival, taking home the “Rising Star of the Year” award alongside actress Buffy Chen.
Wen Junhui, also known as Jun from the K-pop group SEVENTEEN, made his drama debut earlier in August this year with iQIYI original series Exclusive Fairytale. The series is one of the Asian streaming leader’s best-performing original series this year, clinching the top spot on viewership charts across nine markets just four days after its premiere.
The award was part of the Busan International Film Festival Asia Contents Award and Global OTT Awards 2023.
Wen Junhui was also nominated for the Best Newcomer award, signifying the recognition of his acting abilities in only his first-ever lead role in a drama series. Another iQIYI original series, The Knockout (狂飙), was also recognized at the film festival, being nominated for the “Best OTT Original” award.
iQIYI’s Impressive Feats At Other International Awards
iQIYI continues to win big at international and regional awards this year, coming in strong at the national round of the recent Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA), clinching an impressive total of 11 awards, including 5-Star Hunter Bersama GrabFood which won ‘Best Branded Programme or Series (Malaysia)’, and Chinese Original Productions Love Between Fairy and Devil, Super Sketch Show 2, Ping Pong: The Triumph, Become A Farmer and The Land of Miracles which won China’s ‘Best Drama Series’, ‘Best Feature Film’, ‘Best Lifestyle Programme’, ‘Best Animated Programme or Series’ respectively.
Why Try To Change Me Now, is another iQIYI original series that was recognized earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival. Director Zhang Dalei and Cinematographer Lü Songye both received recognition, being selected as the national winner for the ‘Best Direction (Fiction)’ and ‘Best Cinematography’ awards.
Among these, Chinese stars Ren Jialun and Zhao Liying both won the ‘Best Actor and Best Actress’ awards respectively for their starring roles in Thousand Years For You and Wild Bloom, two of iQIYI’s most memorable original series from last year.
More originals to look forward to from iQIYI in 2024
With such a warm response and strong results globally this year, Asia’s leading streaming platform iQIYI has also announced its plans to continue bringing the best C-dramas next year to audiences worldwide.
Fans can look forward to shows starring the likes of Yang Mi (杨幂), Wang Yibo (王一博), Liu Shishi (刘诗诗), Wu Xuanyi (吴宣仪), Bai Lu (白鹿), Shen Yue (沈月), Zhou Jieqiong (周洁琼), Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) and Chen Zheyuan (陈哲远).
Yang Mi will star in the much-anticipated Fox Spirit Matchmaker 1 (狐妖小红娘月红篇), while fellow superstar Liu Shishi will take on Fox Spirit Matchmaker 2 (狐妖小红娘竹业篇), alongside Leon Zhang (张云龙). The latter series will also star Shen Yue, as well as Wu Xuanyi and Zhou Jieqiong, whom international fans may know as previous members of K-pop groups WJSN and I.O.I respectively.
Audiences can also expect upcoming shows with stellar casts, with Zhang Linghe and Bai Lu leading Story of Kunning Palace (宁安如梦), Wang Yibo (王一博) and Li Qin (李沁) in Chang Feng Po Lang (长风破浪) and Song Yi (宋轶) and Leo Luo (罗云熙) in Follow your Heart (颜心记).
*Press Release
