HONG KONG — The gangster drama “Trivisa” took top honors at the Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night, winning best film, director,  actor, screenplay and editing.

“Trivisa,” about three gang leaders facing a changing criminal landscape amid Hong Kong’s 1997 handover, was directed by a trio of new directors and produced by Johnnie To. The film, which premiered at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival, received strong reviews and was named best film by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in January.

The award for best film was presented by Hong Kong movie royalty: Nansun Shi, Raymond Wong, Eric Tsang, Teddy Robin, Karl Maka and Dean Shek, the team behind Hong Kong’s legendary Cinema City studio, which produced a string of hit movies in the 1980s.

One of the night’s highlights came as Kara Wai Ying-hung won best actress for  “Happiness,” a drama about a woman with dementia. It was Ms. Wai’s third Hong Kong Film Awards honor for best actress.

Ms. Wai, who began her career as a martial-arts performer, gave an emotional acceptance speech in which she paid tribute to her mother, who died recently of Alzheimer’s disease.

“I want her to know that I have brought glory to the family,” Ms. Wai said, as tears streamed across her face. “I hope she would say ‘I am proud of you,’ and, mom, I didn’t cause the Wai family to lose face.”

Ms. Wai also thanked Albert Yeung, the head of Emperor Motion Pictures, for investing in a film that was close to her heart but had limited commercial prospects.

Another favorite going into the awards was “Mad World,” a drama about a young man with mental illness. It picked up three awards, for best supporting actor and actress, and best new director for Wong Chun.

The full list of nominees and winners:

Best Film

• “Soul Mate”
• “The Mermaid”
• “Cold War 2”
• “Trivisa”  – WINNER
• “Weeds on Fire”

Best Director

• Wong Chun, “Mad World”
• Derek Tsang, “Soul Mate”
• Johnnie To, “Three”
• Stephen Chow, “The Mermaid”
• Frank Hui, Jevons Au, Vicky Wong, “Trivisa”  – WINNER

Best Actor

• Shawn Yu, “Mad World”
• Francis Ng, “Shed Skin Papa”
• Tony Leung Ka-fai, “Cold War 2”
• Richie Jen, “Trivisa”
• Gordon Lam Ka-tung, “Trivisa”  – WINNER

Best Actress

• Zhou Dongyu, “Soul Mate”
• Ma Sichun, “Soul Mate”
• Nina Paw, “Show Me Your Love”
• Tang Wei, “Book of Love”
• Kara Wai Ying-hung, “Happiness”  – WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

• Eric Tsang, “Mad World”  – WINNER
• Paul Chin, “Book of Love”
• Ng Mang-tat, “The Menu”
• Philip Keung, “Trivisa”
• Liu Kai-chi, “Weeds on Fire”

Best Supporting Actress

• Charmaine Fong, “Mad World”
• Elaine Jin, “Mad World”  – WINNER
• Zhang Yuqi, “The Mermaid”
• Fish Liew, “Sisterhood”
• Janice Man, “Cold War 2”

Best New Performer

• James Ng, “Happiness”
• Jelly Lin, “The Mermaid”
• Jennifer Yu, “Sisterhood”
• Wu Tsz-tung, “Weeds on Fire”  – WINNER
• Tam Sin-yin, “Weeds on Fire”

Best Screenplay

• Florence Chan, “Mad World”
• Lam Wing-sum, Li Yuan, Xu Yimeng, Wu Nan, “Soul Mate”
• Stephen Chow, Kelvin Lee Si-zhen, Ho Miu-ki, Lu Zhengyu, Fung Chih-chiang, Chan Hing-kai, Y. Y. Kong, Tsang Kan-cheung, “The Mermaid”
• Longman Leung, Sunny Luk, Jack Ng, “Cold War 2”
• Loong Man-hong, Thomas Ng, Mak Tin-shu, “Trivisa” – WINNER

Best Cinematography

• Jake Pollock, Jing-ping Yu, “Soul Mate”
• Cheng Siu-keung, To Hung-mo, “Three”
• Jason Kwan, “Cold War 2”
• O Sing-pui, “Weeds on Fire”
• Peter Pau, Cao Yu, “See You Tomorrow”  – WINNER

Best Film Editing

• Derek Hui, Li Dianshi, Zhou Xiaolin, Tan Xiangyuan, “Soul Mate”
• Jordan Goldman, Ron Chan, “Cold War 2”
• David Richardson, “Operation Mekong”
• Allen Leung, David Richardson, “Trivisa”  – WINNER
• David Wu, “See You Tomorrow”

Best Art Direction

• Zhai Tao, “Soul Mate”
• Silver Cheung, Fion Lee, Wu Zhen, Chong Kwok-wing, “Sword Master”
• Daniel Fu, “The Monkey King 2”
• Raymond Chan Kam-ho, “The Mermaid”
• Alfred Yau, “See You Tomorrow”  – WINNER

Best Costume and Makeup Design

• Dora Ng, “Soul Mate”
• Stanley Cheung, “Sword Master”
• Kenneth Yee Chung-man, Dora Ng, “The Monkey King 2”  – WINNER
• William Chang, Lui Fung-shan, “League of Gods”
• William Chang, Cheung Siu-hong, “See You Tomorrow”

Best Action Choreography

• Yuen Bun, Dion Lam, “Sword Master”
• Sammo Hung, “Call of Heroes”
• Sammo Hung, “The Monkey King 2”
• Chin Ka-lok, “Cold War 2”
• Tung Wai, “Operation Mekong”  – WINNER

Best Original Film Score

• Yusuke Hatano, “Mad World”
• Peter Kam, Yusuke Hatano, “Soul Mate”  – WINNER
• Peter Kam, “Cold War 2”
• Day Tai, “Weeds on Fire”
• Nathaniel Mechaly, “See You Tomorrow”

Best Original Film Song

• “(It’s Not A Crime) It’s Just What We Do,” Composer/Lyric/Sung by: Leah Dou, “Soul Mate”
• “Wu Di,” Composer/Lyric: Stephen Chow, Sung by: Deng Chao, “The Mermaid”
• “Anthem of Shatin Martins,” Composer: Day Tai, Lyric: Saville Chan, Sung by: Supper Moment, “Weeds on Fire”  – WINNER
• “Better Tomorrow,” Composer/Lyric/Sung by: Yusuke Hatano, “Happiness”
• “Keep Me by Your Side,” Composer/Lyric: Tang Hanxiao, Sung by: Eason Chan, “See You Tomorrow”

Best Sound Design

• Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu-keung, Yiu Chun-hin, Lai Chi-hung, “Sword Master”
• Jay Yin, “The Monkey King 2”
• Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu-keung, “Cold War 2”  – WINNER
• Nopawat Likitwong, Kaikangwol Rungsakorn, Sarunyu Nurnsai, Stan Yau, “Operation Mekong”
• Robert Mackenzie, “See You Tomorrow”

Best Visual Effects

• Luke Sungjin Jung, “Sword Master”
• Luke Sungjin Jung, Kim Sang-hun, Kim Chan-soo, Kim Chul-min, “The Monkey King 2”  – WINNER
• Ken Law Wai-ho, Lee Inho, Kang Taegyun, Marco Ng, “The Mermaid”
• Yee Kwok-leung, Raymond Leung, “Cold War 2”
• Yee Kwok-leung, Felix Lai Tsz-fei, Kang Taegyun, “Operation Mekong”

Best New Director

• Wong Chun, “Mad World”  – WINNER
• Derek Tsang, “Soul Mate”
• Jazz Boon, “Line Walker”
• Andy Lo, “Happiness”
• Steve Chan (a.k.a. Stevefat), “Weeds on Fire”

Best Film From Mainland China and Taiwan

• “Godspeed”  – WINNER
• “Chongqing Hot Pot”
• “The Road To Mandalay”
• “Mr. Six”
• “I Am Not Madame Bovary”