Patron of the Academy of The Asia Pacific Screen Awards

MEssagE FroM THE PaTron oF THE acadEMY oF THE asIa PacIFIc scrEEn aWards

It is a great honour to be the Patron of The Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

The establishment of The Academy is the important next step in encouraging dialogue, collaboration and business opportunities for the region’s filmmakers. The Academy is designed to provide a platform for relationships to continue and to encourage opportunities for co-productions and other initiatives to develop between the more than 70 countries and territories that form the APSA network.

All APSA nominees are inducted into The Academy, as are Jury and Nominations Council members. In time to come, all Academy members will have a voting influence on the Awards. I remember when I was inducted in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the US. I recognised for the first time that the Academy was not just a night of nights on television; it was not something simply to be reported in the newspaper. But that filmmakers of the English speaking world bring their work there, and feel that they are part of something much larger than a studio or an individual filmmaker’s endeavour. They are part of a community of people who are involved in the lingua franca of our age. That The Academy of APSA now provides filmmakers from the Asia-Pacific region with the same opportunity for community and collaboration is a tremendous achievement.

I know that the Asia Pacific Screen Awards will become the measure of excellence in filmmaking in the Asia-Pacific, and indeed in the world, and I am thrilled to continue my association with the Awards through The Academy.

Jack Thompson am Patron of The Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards

An Australian film legend, Jack Thompson am has been in the forefront of the Australian cinema scene since 1969. His career has seen him travel across the cinema globe—featuring in more than 50 films and receiving every major Australian film award including his nomination as a Living Legend (2005 IF Awards). For his service to the Australian film industry, Jack Thompson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1986. He has recently been filming the epic Baz Luhrmann film, Australia, due for release in late 2008, and Bruce Beresford’s Mao’s Last Dancer, based on the international best-selling book of the same name. It is this extraordinary career that has elevated Jack Thompson to be regarded as an international ambassador of Australian cinema. In 2008, APSA proudly welcomed Jack Thompson as Patron of the newly-formed Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.