Apsa program mockup

Dede Georgia, Croatia, Netherlands Qatar, United Kingdom

ASIA PACIFIC’S HIGHEST ACCOLADE IN FILM PROMOTING CINEMATIC EXCELLENCE BRINGING TOGETHER THE MOST RESPECTED NAMES IN FILM FOSTERING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

OFFICIAL MESSAGES

CONTENTS THE NOMINEES 30 Young Cinema Award 31 Best Animated Feature Film 32 Best Youth Feature Film 33 Best Documentary Feature Film 34 Best Screenplay Our Time Will Come (Ming Yue Ji Shi You) People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong (PRC)

35 Achievement in Cinematography 36 Best Performance by an Actress 37 Best Performance by an Actor 38 Achievement in Directing

5 Official Messages

39 Cultural Diversity of UNESCO Award

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

40 Jury Grand Prize

8 What is APSA

42 FIAPF Award Recipient

13 The Awards Vessels

On behalf of the City of Brisbane, I’m honoured to welcome you to the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

I am delighted to welcome you to the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

After last year’s extraordinary 10th anniversary ceremony, APSA charges full throttle into its second decade.

Brisbane is a great place to live, work and relax – it’s a safe, vibrant, green and prosperous city, valued for its friendly and optimistic character and enjoyable lifestyle.

By hosting the Awards, we show our commitment to a region we proudly call home. Through the Awards we foster our cultural relationships and business ties with our closest neighbours and boost our reputation as Australia’s New World City.

14 Ceremony Hosts and Performers 16 Welcome to Brisbane

The Awards have also helped establish Brisbane as a place to do business for film and emerged as a great economic driver for the city.

The Awards have been instrumental in attracting several international screen conferences to Brisbane, including next year’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers.

A Man of Integrity (Lerd) Islamic Republic of Iran

your name.

(Kimi no na wa) Japan

THE JURIES 20 International Jury President 22 International Jury

ACADEMY IN FOCUS 45 Official Submitting Member Organisations 47 Academy in Focus 48 Nurturing Filmmakers from around the globe 51 Message from the Motion Picture Association

24 Youth, Animation, Documentary International Jury

52 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund

26 Film Director Message and APSA Judging Process

53 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Panel 54 1000 Members and Countingl

27 International Nominations Council

54 Acknowledgements

4 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

CHAIRMAN OF THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards play an important role in acknowledging the talent of a region that stretches from Egypt to the Cook Islands.

41 Best Feature Film

14 Ceremony Hosts

LORD MAYOR OF BRISBANE

The Awards have also helped establish Brisbane as a place to do business for film and emerged as a great economic driver for the city.

The Awards have been instrumental in attracting a significant pipeline of international screen conferences in the coming years, including 2019 Siggraph Asia.

Tonight’s nominated films offer an insight into the unique political, social and cultural landscape of a region that represents 70 countries and areas and 4.5 billion people. The ceremony is our opportunity to celebrate stories that bridge cultural differences and speak to the power of the human spirit.

Congratulations to all the nominees for this year’s Awards. As always, the calibre of your work is absolutely world-class. I wish you all the best of luck.

Thank you to all who have made the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards possible. I hope you enjoy tonight’s ceremony.

Cr Graham Quirk Lord Mayor of Brisbane

Part of what makes APSA such a necessary and exciting initiative is its devotion to the entire Asia Pacific region and its commitment to the recognition of cultural diversity that can be seen in the record nomination tallies for territories likes of Indonesia and Georgia, as well as the first ever nomination for Bhutan. It is encouraging to see industries like these flourish with APSA. And while cinematic sands often shift, I am proud to see filmmakers of all 70 countries and areas each year show audiences a personal truth that might go otherwise unnoticed in news reports.

I immediately think of Shawkat Amin Korki, an APSA-winning filmmaker who exemplifies the bravery that filmmakers so often require to be artists in our part of the world. Through hardship and international bureaucracy, he travelled his film Memories on Stone (about two filmmakers who put their lives on the line to make a film) across the globe including at APSA events in Washington D.C. and UNESCO. And just this year, as he sat on the International Nominations Council, his homeland of Iraqi Kurdistan was voting for their freedom and his airport at Erbil was being taken over.

It makes me proud to know that APSA provides a backdrop for artists like him and so many others to share their stories and allow them to permeate the cultural threshold. Filmmakers will always need to have a fighting spirit to tell the stories they want to tell. And once again this year, APSA is championing those fighters.

This year at APSA we are as always grateful of the support of the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, which is essential to APSA’s ongoing success and the APSA Academy. Likewise, APSA is appreciative of the assistance of Brisbane City Council, UNESCO, FIAPF, Screen Queensland, Motion Picture Association and our valuable sponsors.

Congratulations once again to all the nominees and all the best.

Tonight is a night we acclaim excellence in film making and we are all honoured to bear witness to it.

Michael Hawkins Chairman Asia Pacific Screen Awards

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 5

OFFICIAL MESSAGES

OFFICIAL MESSAGES

PRESIDENT OF FIAPF

DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO

FIAPF - the International Federation of Film Producers Associations has been a proud partner of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards since their inception in 2007. In only ten editions, APSA has become an important partner among the film industry.

UNESCO is pleased to join forces with the annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards to celebrate the power and beauty of cultural diversity and creativity. APSA is our longstanding partner in the promotion of cultural diversity through cinematographic works, and I wish to commend its role in engaging with creative industry leaders, actors and associations.

APSA highlights and promotes the creativity and the diversity of the film productions made across the Asia Pacific region by showcasing the works of some of its most distinguished filmmakers and by enlightening the works of emerging directors.

APSA is, however, not just a vehicle for the promotion of filmmakers and their craft, but also a vital platform for cross-cultural dialogue to occur. APSA provides an opportunity for filmmakers to meet away from the political focus point; a meeting of the minds under the banner of art away from homeland realities.

FIAPF is also proud to honour the Asia Pacific producers and creatives during the APSA Ceremony. The FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film was born on year one of APSA and has been given out each year to an outstanding person who has contributed to the colour and makeup of this vast region.

We have honoured many outstanding individuals from China to Iran, Egypt to Indonesia, and tonight we welcome our next champion – Filipino producer Bianca Balbuena. Her hard and successful work in producing challenging film projects is a testimony of our producers’ community who thinks global when developing local content.

On behalf of FIAPF Members, I would like to congratulate this year’s nominees and convey our warmest thanks to Chairman Michael Hawkins and the APSA team, juries and the City of Brisbane for believing in films with us.

Luis Alberto Scalella President FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations

6 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Movies and cinema allow us to explore different worlds, ideas and values. They challenge us to gain insight into life, reflect on human condition, and contemplate spans of time. More than artworks – films are driving forces of social transformation and dialogue. They help widen our perception of the world to secure lasting peace and mutual understanding. This resonates deeply with the mission of UNESCO. Today, when we see the rise of doctrines based on withdrawal and rejection of the other, we need to respond. When we see violent extremists seeking to destroy our shared heritage, or to undermine the diversity of humanity’s artistic expressions, we need to respond.

We must restore strength and substance to the culture of tolerance, and highlight the extent to which cultures are enriched by mutual exchange.

Movies are one of our most powerful assets that UNESCO and APSA share in this quest to encourage dialogue among cultures, to deepen exchanges and to generate greater respect and mutual understanding.

This is the spirit of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted in 2001.

And this is why we are pleased to screen the winner of this year’s special “Cultural Diversity Award” at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in December 2017.

I wish to thank the City of Brisbane and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on this 11th anniversary of the Awards, and I congratulate all of the talented artists involved for sharing their stories and passion.

Irina Bokova UNESCO Director General November 2009 - November 2017

PRESIDENT OF THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY

PATRON OF THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS

It is my pleasure to warmly welcome the 2017 nominees, International Jury, Youth Animation and Documentary Jury, and members of the International Nominations Council to the APSA Academy.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards was crafted as an event of vital international importance to the filmmakers of Asia Pacific, and with each passing year, that importance grows.

This important network is united not just through the Awards and the region that it represents, but through the underlying tenets of APSA – honouring cinematic excellence and the promotion of cultural diversity.

What a remarkable thing, to be drawn together by our differences, and to have those differences celebrated.

The Academy’s partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has to date, seen MPA-funded grants for script development awarded to 28 projects from 19 countries and areas of Asia Pacific, offered exclusively to APSA Academy members through the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund.

During tonight’s APSA Ceremony, the announcement of the next four recipients will bring that number to 32. That is, 32 projects, funded at script development stage to assist in getting the extraordinary stories of Asia Pacific off the page and onto the screen. How great it is to see these projects flourish on the international stage, too, including Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib, a 2015 fund recipient, which is tonight nominated for its lead stars.

Through APSA we bring cultures together, recognise our shared experience, and strive to understand what is universal about our difference.

Art, and particularly cinema, is a powerful way to view the world through another’s eyes, to walk in their shoes, and experience their truth. The world has an urgent need to find the empathy to unite us.

As the artists and filmmakers of Asia Pacific respond to the world around them by telling their stories, it makes me very proud that the Asia Pacific Screen Awards supports and celebrates them.

It is with deep admiration for our region’s filmmakers that I am honoured to be the Patron of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and urge them to continue to share their stories with the world.

This is one of many activities of the Academy, which also supports the development of Asia Pacific talent through the Asia Pacific Screen Lab, an initiative of Brisbane’s Griffith Film School in partnership with the Academy and NETPAC – Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema.

The Academy’s alliance with the European Film Academy, and networking events and opportunities bring us together throughout the year.

It is wonderful to reconnect with APSA Academy members, now nominated for their new projects, and welcome those newly inducted members to this elite community.

Jack Thompson AM PhD President Asia Pacific Screen Academy

Kim Dong-Ho Dean of the Graduate School of Cinematic Contents, Dankook University Founder and Honorary Festival Director of the Busan International Film Festival

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 7

APSA: HONOURING CINEMATIC EXCELLENCE, CULTURE AND DIVERSITY Established in 2007, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards are proudly brought to you by Brisbane, Australia’s New World City. APSA is the region’s highest accolade in film where cinematic excellence shines. With films from 70 countries and areas in the region, APSA honours filmmaking that best reflects its cultural origins and the diversity of Asia Pacific.

APSA is an international cultural program supported by Brisbane City Council and powered by Brisbane Marketing. It is endorsed by foundation partners Paris-based UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations. The awards ceremony is an exclusive presentation unique to Brisbane and is streamed globally via live webcast.

Now forging its way into its second decade, APSA has seen more than 2,800 films in competition. United by their diversity, each film has told its own story, in its own way, from its own country of origin. The 2017 APSA ceremony will gather many of the region’s leading filmmakers together in Brisbane for one of Asia Pacific’s largest multicultural gatherings. This year’s far-reaching selection of nominees encompasses 42 films that represent the stories of 25 countries and areas of Asia Pacific.

APSA’s reach goes beyond just simply giving out awards. APSA brings people together from all over the world, fostering international relationships and cultural awareness that has led to powerful ties and prosperous friendships between artists. Extending now into its 11th year, APSA continues to unearth the rich stories of the region and opens doors and unique opportunities for those in the film industry.

8 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

APSA has brought attention to the entire world regarding Asia Pacific’s inherent cinematic diversity, which is recognised internationally for the way it unites and inspires.

As the international film industry becomes more connected and dispersed across the globe through co-productions, APSA’s international reach continues to grow from year to year and is now an essential part of the international film community.

APSA AIMS TO Acclaim filmmaking in the Asia Pacific region that best reflects its culture, origins and cinematic excellence Award and honour the people behind this excellence Promote this outstanding work in film to a global audience in order to broaden the market appeal of such works Encourage collaboration between filmmakers in the region and around the world Develop, through film, greater understanding of the region’s various cultures Take to the world the creativity of our neighbouring cultures in the vast Asia Pacific region

The Seen and Unseen (Sekala Niskala) Indonesia, Netherlands, Australia, Qatar APSA Children’s Film Fund Recipient, 2011

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 9

4.5 BILLION PEOPLE 70 COUNTRIES AND AREAS ONE THIRD OF THE EARTH HALF THE WORLD’S FILM THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION STRETCHES FROM EGYPT IN THE WEST TO THE COOK ISLANDS IN THE EAST AND FROM RUSSIA IN THE NORTH TO NEW ZEALAND IN THE SOUTH.

Ghost in the Mountains (Kong Shan Yi Ke) People’s Republic of China

10 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 11

WE HELP ASIA PACIFIC STORIES GET TOLD ON SCREEN

AWARD VESSELS Winners of an Asia Pacific Screen Award receive a unique work of art by Brisbane-based artist Joanna Bone RCA. The vessel that each Asia Pacific Screen Award winner receives is a special and beautiful representation of what the APSAs are all about. These hand-crafted urns and vases with their vibrant colours and subtle evolving shapes transcend mere statues, plaques or scrolls; they are a universal symbol common to all cultures and civilisations that cross all boundaries and borders.

The colours and shapes of the vessels reflect not only the vibrancy of the 70 countries and regions of the Asia Pacific, but also the passion, the diversity, the richness, and the energy of filmmakers who make our corner of the world their home. They exude warmth and a sense of solidarity that speaks to the efforts of Asia Pacific filmmakers to build bridges through storytelling and creativity.

When spread across the globe thanks to our winners’ natural wandering spirits, the vessels continue to connect us to one another, a truly rare connecting thread that binds us. They can’t be replicated or copied and are another element among the many pieces that make APSA a one of a kind among the world.

Manoj Bajpayee accepting the 2016 APSA for Best Performance by an Actor in Aligarh at the 10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Guardians of the Tomb, Australia-China co-production filmed in Queensland

www.screenqld.com.au

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 13

QUEENSLAND’S CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

CEREMONY HOSTS AND PERFORMERS

Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, has established itself as a chamber orchestra of national significance with an outstanding track record of artistic achievement. A Company-in-Residence at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Camerata’s vision is to empower artists, inspire audiences, and enrich communities through music.

Performing without a conductor, the 18-member core ensemble and their guest artists proudly take full ownership of the music-making in the spirit of chamber music to form a thriving, refreshing and acclaimed voice. Under Artistic Director Brendan Joyce, the group undertakes an annual regional Queensland tour and a subscription concert season in both Brisbane and Toowoomba.

LEE LIN CHIN Lee Lin Chin was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, of Chinese extraction, and is best known as a newsreader on SBS in Australia. Beginning with the network as a translator for Chinese-language films, she later worked for ABC Radio and then in 1992 returned to SBS as the face of SBS World News, a role she holds to this day. This longstanding role has made her one of Australia’s most recognisable television personalities and journalists.

Camerata has a reputation for innovation, interesting and adventurous programming, plus they regularly work with performers outside the ‘classical’ sector. In 2016 Camerata was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Chamber and/or Instrumental Ensemble Concert for its concert ‘Home’ featuring an all-Australian music program.

Her early career included small acting roles in Bangkok Hilton (1989), which was produced by APSA FIAPF Outstanding Achievement in Film recipient Dr George Miller, and Resistance (19 92). In recent years, Chin has expanded her on-screen presence on SBS with presenting roles on current affairs comedy program The Feed and as the face of Australia during the Eurovision Song Contest telecast to an international audience of over 200 million.

She also regularly appears in various capacities across the SBS website and On Demand service.

Camerata will be performing with Nawres Alfreh, who is currently a violinist in the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and studied at the Jordan Conservatorium.

In 2016, Lee Lin Chin became the first SBS personality in the network’s 36-year history to be nominated for the Gold Logie, an Australian entertainment award. She has experienced a rapid rise in pop culture thanks to social media. With a worldly outlook, her personal interests include international affairs, history, literature, and the arts.

DAVID WENHAM David Wenham is one of Australia’s most revered and popular actors.

Since his breakthrough in the acclaimed crime drama The Boys (1998) and much-loved SeaChange (1998-1999), Wenham has remained one of the Australian industry’s biggest stars with memorable roles in Better Than Sex (2000), Gettin’ Square (2003) and Oranges and Sunshine (2010) alongside international box office-conquering hits like The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003), 300 (2006) and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Australia (2008).

In addition to appearing on stage in The Crucible and doing voice work in two APSA-nominated animated feature films, Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) and Blinky Bill: The Movie (2015), Wenham has also ventured into directing. The short film Commission was a part of the APSA-nominated omnibus feature The Turning (2013), and his semi-improvised feature debut Ellipsis (2017) received its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.

Nominated for 13 AFI-AACTA Awards, winning three, Wenham has recently appeared in Lion (2016), an Academy Award® and APSA nominated film, and the international box office hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Other high-profile roles include the television mini-series Wake in Fright (2017), Top of the Lake (2013) and its sequel Top of the Lake: China Girl (2017).

14 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

NUNUKUL YUGGERA ABORIGINAL DANCERS The Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers have played for Kings and Queens, travelling the world and bringing their traditional Aboriginal culture to people far and wide.

Initiated by Denise and Eddie Rushka over two decades ago, audiences in Taiwan (PRC), Saudi Arabia, Korea, New Zealand, France, Greece, and Netherlands as well as all around Australia have marvelled at their spectacular ceremonies that bring together dance and music in ways that open eyes and minds, helping to foster understanding of Australian Indigenous people.

Their repertoire includes traditional welcome to country ceremonies, didgeridoo and clapstick routines, fire starting as well as storytelling and dances that have been passed on for thousands of years mixed alongside contemporary numbers, all while wearing traditional dress and body paints. They often invite audiences to participate and are regulars across Brisbane, having previously performed at the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay in 2006 and in ceremonies across the city.

10TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 15

WELCOME TO BRISBANE The City of Brisbane is a shining star of the Asia Pacific – a global hub for research, creative industries, higher education and a destination of choice for tourism and business events.

We are a magnet for talent and skills, a place where entrepreneurs thrive, and more visitors are arriving to experience the good life. We are a globally connected, safe, sustainable and prosperous city, famous for our welcoming locals.

As Australia’s closest eastern seaboard capital to Asia, Brisbane is strategically placed in the region and totally committed to connecting with our closest neighbours.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) continues to build on this connection. Each year, the region’s leading filmmakers and practitioners travel to Brisbane. In 2016, for the first time, APSA was also a key driver in attracting two international screen conferences.

We are proud to share that more exciting film business events are planned in the coming years as Brisbane continues to emerge as an ideal destination for doing the business of film.

Brisbane is the host of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, one of the region’s premier exhibitions, and the Asia Pacific headquarters for one of the world’s most prestigious science and arts events, the World Science Festival Brisbane.

1616| |BRISBANE, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA

Our city is also the custodian of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum (APCS), which was held in Daejeon, South Korea in September and brought together more than 1500 business, government and industry leaders from more than 100 Asia Pacific cities.

Brisbane is making waves internationally and it is not hard to see why we are one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities.

We encourage our international guests to take advantage of Brisbane’s enviable subtropical lifestyle and enjoy our favourite local experiences – from al fresco cafes and boutique-lined streets to spacious parklands and fascinating galleries.

A short trip from the city will take you to our glorious natural attractions. Relax on beautiful beaches, dive into the crystal-clear water off idyllic islands and explore World Heritagelisted rainforests.

Welcome to Brisbane, Australia’s New World City.

CHOOSEBRISBANE.COM.AU

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 17

THE JURIES

We find the films you love, to make you feel at home.

A truly entertaining journey. There’s more to it than just the latest movies. It’s about finding culture and experiences from near and far, for you to enjoy. Because we

Centaur Kyrgyzstan, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands

understand that enriching moments make your flight just that much more meaningful.

It’s just one of the lengths we go to, to make you feel at home.

18 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 19

INTERNATIONAL JURY PRESIDENT JILL BILCOCK ASE ACE Jill Bilcock is one of Australia’s pre-eminent film practitioners, working as an editor for 33 years alongside some of the most acclaimed filmmakers at home and abroad. Her first film was Richard Lowenstein’s coal-mining drama Strikebound (1984) and she would continue to work with Lowenstein on a number of films including iconic rock musical Dogs in Space (1986), concert documentary Australian Made: The Movie (1987) and children’s drama Say a Little Prayer (1993).

After breaking out on the local scene, Bilcock quickly found international attention with Fred Schepisi’s Academy Award®-nominated Evil Angels (1988), a retelling of the Lindy Chamberlain court trial that starred Meryl Streep and competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She soon forged another long-lasting collaborative relationship, this time with Baz Luhrmann. Her work on Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001) was hailed for the way it introduced fast-paced, modern editing techniques to classic genres of musical and Shakespearean romance, which proved to be highly influential and considered key to the films’ success. She received an Academy Award® nomination for Moulin Rouge! and won awards from the Australian Film Institute (AFI), American Film Institute and the American Cinema Editors Guild.

Jill Bilcock has remarkably edited six of the 20 highest-grossing Australian films of all time.

Alongside Luhrmann’s flamboyant musicals, she edited PJ Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding (1994), Kriv Stenders’ Red Dog (2011, APSA nominee for Best Children’s Feature Film), the Working Dog production of The Dish (2000), and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s The Dressmaker (2015).

The Dressmaker (2015) directed by Joclyn Moorhouse

Moulin Rouge! (2001) directed by Baz Luhrmann

Bilcock has also worked on many international productions including Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) both starring Cate Blanchett, Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition (2002) with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, and Jean-Marc Vallée’s The Young Victoria (2009).

Significantly, Bilcock has also worked extensively alongside female filmmakers within the Australian film industry including Moorhouse as well as Ana Kokkinos, Sue Brooks, Clara Law and Robyn Nevin.

She is currently working once more with Richard Lowenstein on Mystify: Michael Hutchence, a documentary about the late INXS singer and star of Dogs in Space (1986), while a documentary about her life and career, Jill Bilcock: Dancing the Invisible, recently premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival. Over her career she has won five AFI Awards, received four additional AFI nominations, two AACTA nominations, and four BAFTA nominations. In 1995 she was awarded the AFI’s prestigious Byron Kennedy Award for her outstanding creative enterprise within the industry.

She is a member of the ASE (Australian Screen Editors) and ACE (American Cinema Editors).

Jill Bilcock; Dancing the Invisible (2017) directed by Axel Grigor

(Clockwise) Elizabeth (1998) directed by Shekhar Kapur; Strictly Ballroom (1992) directed by Baz Luhrmann; Muriel’s Wedding (1994) directed by PJ Hogan; Red Dog (2011) directed by Kriv Stenders 20 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 21

INTERNATIONAL JURY ADOLFO ALIX JR

YOSHI YATABE

Adolfo Alix Jr is one of the world’s most prolific filmmakers, having directed 30 feature films in only 11 years with an additional 29 writing credits, plus short films, and over 200 episodes of television to his name. In 2006, Alix Jr’s debut feature, Donsol, was the official Philippines selection for the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, and in 2010, he was named by The Hollywood Reporter in their ‘Next Generation Asia’ list that featured 20 filmmakers deemed “the best and brightest among their peers”.

Yoshi Yatabe graduated from Waseda University before earning an MBA at The Business School of the World, INSEAD, in France. After spending eight years in the financial world, he began producing and distributing documentary films, and helping manage the French Film Festival in Tokyo, organized by UniFrance. After joining Tokyo International Film Festival in 2002, Yatabe oversaw the Programming Division and served as Programming Director for the Japanese Independent Film section. In 2007, he was appointed to the position of Programming Director for the International Competition section. This year marks his 11th as head of programming.

Philippines

Japan

In 2013, Adolfo Alix Jr broke through to even bigger international recognition when Death March, a black and white drama about Filipino and American prisoners of war during World War II, competed in the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Un Certain Regard competition. His 2009 film Manila also played at Cannes as an out-of-competition special screening. In his homeland of the Philippines, Alix Jr’s films have competed at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, Cinema One Originals festival, the Metro Manila Film Festival New Wave section, and the Cinemanila International Film Festival. He has won Best Director at the Gawad Urian Awards, plus six prizes from the nation’s Young Critics Circle Awards, and been nominated for eight Golden Screen Awards. His latest film Dark is the Night premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2015, Yatabe produced the documentary Dryads in a Snow Valley. The film, directed by Shigeru Kobayashi, followed a couple who move from Tokyo to the snows of rural Japan where they become connected to the lost ways of rural life. Among the film juries he has served on include Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s “East of the West” section, the Art Encouragement Prize given by the Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs, the Nomination Committee of the Asian Film Awards, and for the Mainichi Film Awards.

HE SAIFEI

ADILKHAN YERZHANOV

He Saifei is a Chinese film and television actress who was born in the Daishan County, Zhejiang Province. One of three daughters, He is best known for internationally acclaimed and awardwinning films from globally recognised filmmakers. Titles include Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern (1992), an Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, and Chen Kaige’s Temptress Moon (1996), which competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She starred alongside superstar actress Gong Li in both of those films. She also featured in Academy Award®-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007), which was nominated for a Golden Globe® and two BAFTAs.

Adilkhan Yerzhanov has quickly become one of the most internationally recognised filmmakers to emerge out of the thriving Kazakh film industry. Born in the Jezkazgan region of what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerzhanov studied at the Kazakhstan National Academy of Arts before continuing his studies in New York City. He gained attention as the creator of the first Kazakh animated television series, KozyKorpesh and Bayan-Sulu for which he won the JSC Khabar Competition for Best Scenario. In 2015, award-winning online film magazine The Calvert Journal hailed him as one of the “five Kazakh film directors you need to know” and praised his “absurdist creativity”.

People’s Republic of China

Kazakhstan

Yerzhanov directed a series of short films and then followed those with acclaimed feature films. He is known for his often surrealist and theatrical style that investigates his home country’s political turmoil. His debut feature Rieltor was nominated as Best Film Feature at the Dubai International Film Festival, and his followup, the black-and-white drama Constructors, won the APSA NETPAC Development Prize in 2013. His third feature, The Owners, was a colourful and often comedic remake of Constructors. The Owners received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Feature Film and Achievement in Cinematography at the 2014 APSAs. His fourth feature as a director, The Plague at the Karatas Village (2016), had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam where it won the NETPAC Award.

In 1995, He Saifei won the China Film Society of Performing Arts Award for her role as ‘Xiao E’ in Blush (Hong fen), while the film won the Silver Berlin Bear from the Berlin International Film Festival for its Outstanding Single Achievement. In 1996, she was awarded the Best Supporting Actress prize from the Hundred Flowers Awards for her performance in Di hou wu gong dui.

Recently, she featured as Sister Jin in the 2015 epic television series Lord of Shanghai, which aired for a total of 32 episodes on TVB Jade as one of the network’s four grand anniversary broadcasts. In 2016, she featured in the action-comedy film Sugar Express.

WHAT THE INTERNATIONAL JURY DOES

Every year, the members of the prestigious APSA International Jury descend upon Brisbane, Australia, to watch and evaluate the nominated films and decide upon the winners. The International Nominations Council work tirelessly throughout the year to devise a set of nominees that make APSA proud each and every year. For ten days in November, the International Jury watch nominated films on the big screen of the Griffith Film School and then deliberate on the winners in Best Feature Film, Achievement in Directing, Best Performance by an Actress, Best Performance by an Actor, Best Screenplay, Achievement in Cinematography and the Cultural Diversity Award under the Patronage of UNESCO a mere two days before the APSA ceremony.

All International Jury members are impartial and all voting and deliberations are monitored by an independent scrutineer in accordance to APSA Charter rules and regulations.

22 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 23

YOUTH ANIMATION AND DOCUMENTARY INTERNATIONAL JURY An international jury of three industry experts led by the Chair of the Jury determine the APSA winners for Best Youth Feature Film, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film.

HAIFAA AL MANSOUR Saudi Arabia Chair

STEVE ABBOTT United Kingdom

Haifaa Al Mansour is regarded as one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant cinematic figures. She studied in Cairo and completed a master’s degree in Film Studies from the University of Sydney.

She began making short films before moving into documentary with Women Without Shadows (2005).

Steve Abbott has worked in the film and television industries since 1979 as a manager and producer.

For nearly 20 years, Abbott and business partner Anne James were responsible for the management of the Monty Python group. Abbott later co-founded Prominent Features and Prominent Television with James, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. His first film as an executive producer was A Fish Called Wanda (1988), which was nominated for three Academy Awards®, winning one. Abbott helped produce Blame it on the Bellboy (1992), Fierce Creatures (1997) and Brassed Off (1996), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film. The film also won a César Award for Best Foreign Film.

Wadjda (2013), which she wrote and directed, was her feature debut. The film received its world premiere at the 2012 Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a BAFTA and the Best Children’s Feature Film APSA in 2013. It is the first feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first by a female Saudi Arabian director and the first filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia.

Wadjda was selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards®, the first time Saudi Arabia has submitted a film for this category. In 2016, Al Mansour became the first artist from the Arabian Gulf region to be invited to join AMPAS®. She recently published a novelisation of the film titled The Green Bicycle for Penguin Group.

Her latest film is Mary Shelley (2017), starring Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth, about the life of the author of Frankenstein.

It recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mary Shelley (2017) Ireland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg,United States of America Wadjda (2012) Saudi Arabia, Germany

Abbott is a member of AMPAS®, BAFTA and the European Film Academy and is a former director of the National Film Trustee Company. He was a member of the Skillset Film Skills Strategy Committee and juror on both the Carl Foreman and Grierson documentary awards and was a juror at the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival. He was the founding Chair of Screen Yorkshire and chaired Bradford’s successful bid to be the first-ever UNESCO-designated City of Film, a role he still holds.

MELANIE COOMBS Australia

Melanie Coombs is an award-winning producer of animation, documentary and dramatic film and television. Early in her producing career, she won an Australian Film Institute Award for producing Break & Enter (1999) and later produced the Australian clayanimation short film Harvie Krumpet (2003). That film featured voice-work by Geoffrey Rush and won 20 international awards including the Academy Award® for Best Short Film, Animated. Coombs also produced the animated feature film Mary and Max (2009), which involved the voice talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. It won the APSA for Best Animated Feature Film as well as prizes from the Berlin International Film Festival and the Australian Directors Guild.

In 2015, Coombs produced Graceful Girls about competitive calisthenics, which won the documentary audience prize at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) where it also received its World Premiere. Recently, she produced The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, which was the Opening Night selection of the 2016 MIFF and was released theatrically in 2017. She is an Ambassador for Screenrights, a member of the Screen Producers Association of Australia, the Australian Academy Cinema and Television Arts and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy.

24 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 25

ABOUT THE JUDGING PROCESS The Asia Pacific Screen Awards judging process is conducted in three phases before the International Jury and the Youth Animation Documentary International Jury arrive in Brisbane to decide upon the winners. The process begins with an expert selection panel of four names assembled by APSA who watch all the films entered into APSA by Official Submitting Member organisations (see page 43) throughout the year.

The shortlisted selected titles are then joined by a curated list of titles recommended to APSA by consultants from around the world who suggest films from the festival and international release circuit.

The International Nominations Council watch these titles throughout the year before assembling in Brisbane to complete their council duties and deliberate on the nominations.

Three specialty panels of professionals drawn from the relevant screen crafts are also selected and regularly watch films across the year before conferencing together to set the nominees for Best Youth Feature Film, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film for the APSA competition.

APSA SELECTION PANELS YOUTH FEATURE FILM Henry Crawford Emmy award winning TV drama producer.

Previous board member and script/funding assessor for Australian Film Commission Dr Anne Démy-Geroe Specialist of Asian Pacific Cinema, Griffith Film School, and Director of Iranian Film Festival Australia Derek Weeks President of Australian Teachers of Media Queensland, former Education Officer for Screen Queensland and youth programmer for Brisbane International Film Festival DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM Philip Cheah Advisory Committee member, NETPAC, and former Director of Singapore International Film Festival

Faramarz K-Rahber Award-winning documentary filmmaker and film academic

INTERNATIONAL NOMINATIONS COUNCIL

Maxine Williamson Former Film Director, Asia Pacific Screen Awards ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Dr Peter Moyes Program director animation department, Griffith Film School, former Director of the Brisbane International Animation Festival, and award-winning animator Assoc. Prof. Dr Andi Spark Head of animation program Griffith Film School, Griffith University, international award-winning animator Deborah Szapiro Founder and Festival Director of Japanime Film Festival, Co-Director of Sydney International Animation Festival, and Animation Professor at University of Technology Sydney OFFICIAL SUBMITTING MEMBER ORGANISATION PANEL Sunil Badami Writer, journalist, critic, broadcaster and academic Philip Cheah Vice-President, NETPAC, and former Director of Singapore International Film Festival Dr Jane Park Author and academic, senior lecturer in Asian Cinema at The University of Sydney Julie Rigg Journalist, ABC Radio National broadcaster and film critic

Prof Hong-Joon Kim

Kiki Fung

Shawkat Amin Korki

Kiki Fung is film critic, curator and former Head Programmer for Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) and its successor, Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF).

She is a contributor for the Hong Kong International Film Festival, has guest-curated for the Brisbane Festival and Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and was Film Program Manager for the Melbourne International Arts Festival. Before moving to Australia in 2010, she served at the Hong Kong Film Archive for seven years in areas of program organisation, management and publication editing, having assisted in editing three volumes of Hong Kong Filmography, among others. She is a member of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) and Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

Born in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1973, Shawkat Amin Korki and his family fled from military oppression in 1975, living in exile in Iran for 25 years. Korki returned home and wrote, directed and produced his first feature film in Iraqi Kurdistan, Crossing The Dust (2006), which won many international prizes and was nominated for the inaugural APSA for Achievement in Directing. His second feature Kick Off (2009) won 12 international awards including Busan’s New Currents Award and FIPRESCI Prize.

His third feature, Memories on Stone (2014), won many awards internationally including Best Film from the Arab World at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the coveted APSA UNESCO Award and was Iraq’s official Academy Awards ® submission.

Dr Gulnara Abikeyeva

Meenakshi Shedde

Julie Rigg

Dr Gulnara Abikeyeva is an award-winning Kazakh author, film critic and film researcher.

Currently a professor of film history and theory at Turan University in Almaty, Gulnara was formerly the artistic director of the International Film Festival Eurasia in Almaty, and has launched five cinema magazines. In 2001-2002 she was a Fulbright scholar at Bowdoin College, read lectures at Pittsburgh University and made presentations at Harvard, Yale, and Tafts universities in the US. She is the author of 10 books about cinema, mostly about Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries. As a member of FIPRESCI and NETPAC, she has been a jury member at several international film festivals.

Meenakshi Shedde is based in Mumbai and is the South Asia Consultant to the Berlin International Film Festival, and Consultant to the Dubai International Film Festival. She has been India/Asia Curator and Consultant to the Toronto, Locarno, Busan, World Cinema Amsterdam, Kerala and Mumbai film festivals and the International Film Festival of India (IFFIGoa). A journalist for 30 years and winner of India’s National Award for Best Film Critic, she has been on the jury of 20 international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Taipei. Shedde has mentored filmmakers, screenwriters and critics at various festivals around the world and has written for 12 books.

Julie Rigg has been a journalist since 1960, a broadcaster since 1973 and a film critic since 1988. Her last show, before retiring from fulltime broadcasting at ABC Radio National, was Movietime (2004 to 2013). She won the BP Arts Media award in 1989, the Geraldine Pascall award for her film criticism in 2003, and has served on critics’ juries at film festivals around the world, including San Sebastián, Toronto, Venice, Havana and Dubai, as well as the jury for the Sydney Film Prize in 2011, a NETPAC jury, and an Australia Korea Foundation delegation to Seoul and Busan. From 2013 to 2015, she wrote monthly for ABC Television’s ARTS ONLINE and remains a freelancer journalist. She has attended every APSA ceremony.

Chair Republic of Korea

Professor, Department of Film, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Korea National University of Arts. Hong-Joon Kim was Festival Director of the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival and Commissioner of the Korean Film Council from 2000-2005. His published books include I, a Filmmaker: Kim Hong-Joon’s Film Notes and Two Or Three Things You Want To Know About Movies.

Hong-Joon Kim is an award-winning director, and screenwriter of films including Jungle Story (1996) and La Vie En Rose (1994). He hosted and co-wrote the television series Korean Classical Cinema Special.

YOUNG CINEMA AWARD Dr Gulnara Abikeyeva Author, film critic, researcher, and Professor of Film History and Theory at Turan University, Almaty Kiki Fung Incoming Programmer for Hong Kong International Film Festival, former Head Programmer for Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival and Brisbane International Film Festival Prof Hong-Joon Kim Author, festival director, Professor at Department of Film, School of Film, TV and Multimedia, Korea National University of Arts

ABBAS KIAROSTAMI, 24 FRAMES During the APSA International Nominations Council deliberations, it was decided to confer an Artistic Acknowledgement to Abbas Kiarostami and his final feature, 24 Frames.

The International Nominations Council chose to recognise the late Iranian master for his remarkable vision with this special honour, and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy has posthumously granted Kiarostami a membership. Kiarostami is best known for Taste of Cherry (1997), which was awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, and Certified Copy (2010), starring Juliette Binoche.

Kazakhstan

Hong Kong (PRC)

India

Iraqi Kurdistan

Australia

“Abbas Kiarostami’s final film 24 Frames is an exquisite reverie on scenes from nature. Through still, but precise frames, and aided by subtle staging or effects, he captures the haunting, haiku-like poetry of nature, its beauty, amorousness and brutality.

The play with the double meaning of ‘frame’ reflects his profound mediation on the cinematic form.”

– Prof Hong-Joon Kim, APSA International Nominations Council Chair

24 Frames Islamic Republic of Iran, France 26 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Left to right: Julie Rigg, Shawkat Amin Korki, Hong-Joon Kim, Meenakshi Shedde, Gulnara Abikeyeva, Kiki Fung,

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 27

THE NOMINEES

Foxtrot Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland

28 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 29

YOUNG CINEMA AWARD

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Have a Nice Day (Da Shi Jie) - People’s Republic of China

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards have partnered for a second time with Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) and Griffith Film School (GFS) to present the relevant Young Cinema Award.

Bestowed upon a first or second time director, this award recognises the abundant emerging talent of Asia Pacific. In 2017, almost half of the films in competition for APSA were the debut or sophomore work of a director, a powerful statistic that highlights not just the importance of the Young Cinema Award, but also the growing number of filmmakers who are launching their careers in this part of the globe.

Ilgar Najaf Director

Produced by Yang Cheng, Liu Jian; Co-Produced by Jin Rui APSA-winning director Liu Jian directs this madcap black comedy set in the lower class underworld of a southern Chinese city. Xiao Zhang is a desperate construction worker and deliveryman who decides to steal one-million yuan from his boss, a local mobster, in order to send his girlfriend to Korea to fix her failed plastic surgery. He soon finds himself in a bigger predicament when a hitman, a gangster and an inventor with x-ray glasses go after both him and the money. A witty, animated film-noir, Have a Nice Day is both a study of desperate individuals and a wild ride that references everything from Tolstoy to Trump to The Godfather on its journey.

Saving Sally - Philippines, France

Produced by Avid Liongoren, Alain de la Mata, Hervé Pennequin, Catherine Jacques Made by five animators over a period of 12 years, Saving Sally is a story of unrequited love and monsters both real and metaphorical. Told through a mixture of animation, live action actors and painted backgrounds, Avid Liongoren’s film recounts the story of Marty, an aspiring comicbook artist who is secretly in love with his best friend, Sally, an inventor of gadgets. Like every love story, there are complications: Sally has monsters for parents and already has an awful boyfriend. Meanwhile, geeky Marty has the innate ability to do nothing about everything despite his vivid fantasies of defending the love of his life from the big bad world.

Pomegranate Orchard (Nar Baği) Azerbaijan

Ilgar Najaf

for Pomegranate Orchard (Nar Baği) Azerbaijan “Pomegranate Orchard by Ilgar Najaf not only indicates the rise of Azeri cinema but also reflects the slow changes that Azeri society is undergoing. Competing with the blooming cinemas from neighbouring countries like Iran and Turkey on the one hand, and preoccupied with the great income from gas and oil on another, Azerbaijan has not paid enough attention to cinema. Only the new generation of filmmakers, who started independent production studios, made Azeri cinema visible among the international arena. Pomegranate Orchard is also a metaphor of society: its strong cultural roots lie in the image of the orchard and the old family house, whose presence stands for stability. In contrast to such stability, the protagonist is on the move, heading to Russia to earn a living, leaving behind his wife and son with his father. Here is the big question posed by the film: what is the future for the new generation that is represented by the son, in whose vision (because of his medical condition) the red pomegranates turns into black...?

The title of Sergi Parajanov’s film from 50 years ago was The Colour of Pomegranates. The title of Ilgar Najaf’s film could well be ‘When the Colour of Pomegranates is Lost’.”

Young Cinema Award Panel – Prof Hong-Joon Kim, Dr Gulnara Abikeyeva, Kiki Fung

30 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) - Japan

Produced by Ohashi Nagaharu, Tateishi Kensuke, Uetsuki Mikio, Nakamura Shinichi, Iizuka Toshio

Based on the popular best-selling manga series written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima, Naoko Yamada’s A Silent Voice begins at a Japanese elementary school where Shoya Ishida is mercilessly bullying the new girl in class, Shoko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as his teasing escalates, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shoya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shoko and Shoya do not speak to each other again. That is until an older, wiser Shoya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shoko once more.

Is it too late to atone for his sins, or can Shoya redeem himself and become a better man?

Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming - Canada Produced by Ann Marie Fleming; Co-Produced by Shirley Vercruysse, Michael Fukushima

Rosie Ming is a young Canadian poet who lives at home with her over-protective Chinese immigrant grandparents and has never been anywhere by herself. The daughter of a Chinese mother and an Iranian father, she is invited to perform at a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, but would rather go to the bright lights of Paris. Once in Iran, however, she finds herself in the company of poets and Persians who tell her stories that force her to confront her past: the Iranian father she assumed had abandoned her and the nature of poetry itself. A poignant tale about building bridges between cultural and generational divides, being curious and finding your own voice through the magic of poetry from director Ann Marie Fleming.

your name. (Kimi no na wa) - Japan

Produced by Genki Kawamura, Noritaka Kawaguchi Mitsuha and Taki are total strangers living completely different lives in separate parts of Japan.

But when Mitsuha makes a wish to leave her quiet mountain town for the bustling city, the two teenagers become connected in a bizarre way. She dreams she is a handsome boy living in Tokyo while Taki dreams he is a girl from a rural town he’s never been to. What does their newfound connection mean, how will it bring them together, and what does a passing comet mean to their story? your name. is the second film by director Makoto Shinkai to be nominated for a Best Animated Feature Film APSA after 5 Centimetres Per Second won in 2007, the inaugural year.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 31

BEST YOUTH FEATURE FILM

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM Big Big World (Koca Dünya) - Turkey

Produced by Ömer Atay Teenagers Ali and Zuhal grew up together in an orphanage with a bond as strong as siblings.

When Ali moves out on account of his age, Zuhal is put into the dubious care of a foster family and the two are no longer allowed to see each other. In a desperate attempt to save Zuhal from an arranged marriage, Ali commits a terrible crime and they find themselves on the run, away from civilisation and into the woods. There they try to start a new life in a natural environment full of wonders, strange residents and threats. One day, however, Ali finds Zuhal drenched in blood and doesn’t have any choice but to return to the city.

Jasper Jones - Australia

Produced by Vincent Sheehan, David Jowsey Adapted from Craig Silvey’s bestselling Australian novel of the same name, Jasper Jones is the story of Charlie Bucktin, a bookish 14-year-old boy living in a small town in Western Australia. In the dead of night during the scorching summer of 1969, Charlie is startled when he is woken by local mixed-race outcast Jasper Jones outside his window. Jasper leads him deep into the countryside and shows him something that will change their lives forever, setting them both on a dangerous journey to solve a mystery that will consume the entire community. In an isolated town where secrecy, gossip and tragedy overwhelm the landscape, Charlie faces family breakdown, finds his first love, and discovers what courage truly means.

The Seen and Unseen (Sekala Niskala) - Indonesia, Netherlands, Australia, Qatar

Produced by Gita Fara, Kamila Andini, Ifa Isfansyah The director-producer of APSA 2012 Best Children’s Feature Film award winner The Mirror Never Dies returns with The Seen and Unseen, an adventure into a remarkable visual world.

One day in a hospital room, ten-year-old girl Tantri realises she does not have much time left with her twin brother, Tantra, who is losing his senses and dying. To help cope with this harsh reality, Tantri retreats to an enchanting nocturnal dream world, which becomes the twins’ playground. Under the light of the full moon Tantri dances about her home and about her feelings. She experiences a magical journey and emotional relationship through body expressions, between reality and imagination, grief and hope.

The Skier (Ski-Baz) - Islamic Republic of Iran

Produced by Mohammad Ahmadi A mountain goat that has taken shelter in a small village is to be sacrificed for the occasion of a traditional ceremony. However, a small boy named Jolie decides to save his new pet goat using prize money from winning his ski race in the afternoon. This road movie is an ethnofictional film that colourfully documents vanishing tribal traditions, painting a portrait of the ethnic community of the Bakhtiari people of southwest Iran. The positive and determined central character is an example of an empowered young child. Director Fereidoun Najafi finely executes the challenging task of directing children and animals (the goat is almost never off screen) in the rarely-seen snow-covered landscapes of Iran.

The Summer is Gone (Ba Yue) - People’s Republic of China

Produced by Zhao Yanming, Zhang Jian, Li Liangwen It is the early 1990s in China and a western city boy named Xiao Lei has just graduated from primary school. Finally, it is time for a long-awaited summer holiday without any homework.

However, what was to be his sunny, carefree summer coincides with a defining moment of political change. With sweeping reforms to transform the country into a market economy, many people lose their supposedly secure life-long jobs – colloquially known as ‘iron rice bowls’ – and an entire generation including Xiao Lei’s family are forced to make difficult choices.

Executive Producer Pema Tseden previously won the 2015 APSA for Best Children’s Feature for River, and cinematographer Lyu Songye also won a 2015 APSA for his work on Tharlo.

32 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web - New Zealand

Produced by Alexander Behse; Co-Produced by Annie Goldson The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the ‘most wanted man online’, is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom, the US Government and entertainment industry being fought in New Zealand is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age. Charting the rise of Dotcom, a hacker and content pirate, wannabe politician and infamous underground figure, Annie Goldson’s documentary also details the invasive efforts to bring him and his online empire down that stretch from New Zealand to the White House. Three years in the making, this independent film chronicles the events surrounding this spectacular moment in global online history, dubbed the ‘largest copyright case’ ever.

Last Men in Aleppo - Syrian Arab Republic, Denmark, Germany

Produced by Søren Steen Jespersen, Kareem Abeed, Stefan Kloos After five years of war in Syria, the remaining citizens of Aleppo continue to live under siege. We experience the daily life, death and struggle in the streets of the city through the eyes of The White Helmets, Nobel Peace Prize-nominated volunteers who protect and fight for sanity where war has become the norm. Khalid, Subhi and Mahmoud are among the first to enter the destroyed buildings, scouring through the rubble in search of bodies and signs of life. As they live under constant bombing together with the remaining 350,000 civilians in Aleppo, they struggle with the same dilemma: should they flee and bring their families to safety, or should they stay and fight for their city?

The Opposition - Australia, Papua New Guinea

Produced by Rebecca Barry, Madeleine Hetherton, Hollie Fifer Hollie Fifer’s debut film is a David-and-Goliath battle over a slice of Papua New Guinea paradise.

Joe Moses, leader of the Paga Hill Settlement, struggles to save his 3,000 people before they are forcibly evicted to make way for a five-star hotel and marina. Despite betrayals, police brutality and risks to his own life, Joe battles through the courts for three years with a coalition of allies including Dr Kristian Lasslett of the International State Crime Initiative and a team of pro-bono lawyers fighting the companies who want to take away his community’s home. The subject of its own court action, The Opposition shows how easily corruption can take hold.

Taste of Cement - Lebanon, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, Germany

Produced by Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N Siebert The Lebanese Civil War may be over, but the Syrian one still rages on. In Beirut, Syrian refugees take jobs as construction workers, building skyscrapers while at the same time their own houses back home are being shelled. The Lebanese government has imposed night-time curfews on the refugees and they are not allowed to leave the building site after 7pm. Cut off from the outside world and from their homeland, they gather at night around a small TV set to get the news from Syria. Tormented by anguish and anxiety while suffering the deprivation of the most basic human and workers’ rights, these men keep hoping for a different life.

A Yangtze Landscape (Changjiang) - People’s Republic of China

Produced by Xu Feixue, Lu Zhixin, Zhang Jun Using the Yangtze river as a contemplative metaphor for contemporary China, this black and white journey sets off from the Port of Shanghai on a filmed odyssey of thousands of kilometres to the river’s source in Qinghai/Tibet. APSA Academy Member Xu Xin’s epic film passes through Nanjing, Wuhan, the massive Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing, the upper Yangtze Yibin, and a dry land crossing to the source. Experimental music and noise recorded live on scene were painstakingly paired to the visuals in post-production, creating an atmosphere of magical realism, contrasting with people who seem to be decorative figures right out of traditional Chinese landscape scrolls, all living alongside a river that no longer seems alive.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 33

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

BEST SCREENPLAY Boris Khlebnikov, Natalia Meshchaninova for Arrhythmia (Aritmiya)

Russian Federation, Finland, Germany Boris Khlebnikov made his feature screenwriting and directorial debut with Roads to Koktebel (2003), winning Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Philip Morris Award. Free Floating (2006) played the Venice Film Festival and won awards from the Russian Guild of Film Critics and Warsaw International Film Festival. He premiered Help Gone Mad (2009) at the Berlin International Film Festival, later returning with A Long and Happy Life (2013).

Natalia Meschaninova is a writer, director, producer and cameraperson, working in documentary and features. She directed Kombinat (2014), which won the White Elephant award from the Russian Guild of Film Critics and was nominated for a Tiger Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Dastan Zhapar Uulu, Bakyt Mukul for A Father’s Will (Atanyn Kereezi)

Kyrgyzstan Dastan Zhapar Uulu graduated from Kyrgyz State University of Culture and Arts in the Theatre and Cinema Faculty in 2010 and that same year became a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Kyrgyz Republic. His work as a cinematographer includes the documentaries Cradle of Happiness (2010), The Way to Mecca (2011) and The Lamp (2015) and the feature Affection (2013). An honoured artist in his home country, Bakyt Mukul is an actor, writer and director. In 1991, he graduated from theater school with a degree in drama and film acting. He is currently a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Kyrgyz Republic. A Father’s Will is the debut collaboration between Zhapar Uulu and Mukul.

Mayank Tewari, Amit V Masurkar for Newton

India Mayank Tewari is a former reporter, Mumbai-based columnist, and screenwriter. Newton is his second feature as a screenwriter following his debut Ragini MMS in 2011. He is also an actor and features in both Newton and director/co-writer Amit V Masurkar’s Sulemani Keeda (2014).

Mumbai-based Amit V Masurkar has written for sketch comedy shows like The Great Indian Comedy Show (2004-2006) and Bollywood films including Chaar Din Ki Chandni (2012) and Murder 3 (2013). His directorial debut, the independent, low budget comedy which he also wrote, Sulemani Keeda was a sleeper box office hit set within the world of Bollywood screenwriters.

Newton is his second film and is India’s official submission for the 90th Academy Awards®.

David Tranter, Steven Mcgregor for Sweet Country

Australia David Tranter is Australia’s leading Aboriginal sound recordist, with a 20-year career. He won an AFI Award and an Australian Screen Sound Award for Samson & Delilah (2009). In 2011, he was awarded the inaugural Bob Plasto Screen Award for his contribution to film and television in the Northern Territory of Australia. Sweet Country is inspired by a true story and loosely based on stories told by David’s Grandfather and is his feature screenwriting debut.

Steven McGregor won a 2013 AACTA Award and was nominated for a 2015 AWGIE for Redfern Now. As well as TV series Ready for This, Steven wrote and directed the short film Cold Turkey (2003), which earned two AFI Award nominations.

Kore-eda Hirokazu for The Third Murder (Sandome no Satsujin)

Japan Kore-eda Hirokazu is one of Japan’s most highly regarded auteurs. His directorial debut Maborosi (1995) won the Venice International Film Festival’s Golden Osella Prize. Subsequently, he continued to receive international acclaim and accolades for After Life (1999), Distance (2001), Nobody Knows (2004), Hana (2006), Still Walking (2008) and Air Doll (2009), which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. I Wish (2011) was nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film at APSA in 2012. Like Father, Like Son (2013) competed at Cannes for the Palme d’Or and was awarded the Jury Prize and also received two APSA nominations for Best Feature Film and Achievement in Directing.

34 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Timofey Lobov, Pyotr Dukhovskoy for The Bottomless Bag (Meshok Bez Dna)

Russian Federation Timofey Lobov studied at Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) under the tutelage of the late great cinematographer Vadim Yousov, graduating in 2011. He won Best Cinematography at Moscow’s Saint Anna Film Festival for Further From Childhood (2010). He has worked on short films, episodic TV, and feature film Kedy (2016). In March of 2017, Lobov joined the Russian Association of Cinematographers (R.G.C.). Pyotr Dukhovskoy also studied at VGIK, graduating in 2009. Since winning an award for his cinematography at the 2000 Kinotavr Film Festival, he has received multiple awards and nominations for his body of work, including a NIKA Cinema Award nomination for Wild Field (2008), and multiple awards for Pechorin (2011).

Lyu Songye for Ghost in the Mountains (Kong Shan Yi Ke)

People’s Republic of China Known for his ‘obsession with light’, Lyu Songye was born and raised in Hulun Buir, China. He graduated from St Petersburg State University of Film and Television in 2008, having majored in cinematography and since 2010 has taught cinematography at China’s Hulunbeier University.

Tharlo (2015), his feature debut, was shot completely in black and white. It premiered in Venice’s Orizzonte section and was nominated for the Venice Horizons Award as well as four nominations at the Golden Horse Awards including Best Cinematography for Lyu Songye. Lyu is an APSA Academy Member and was awarded a Special Mention for Achievement in Cinematography for Tharlo. He also shot 2017 APSA Best Youth Feature Film nominee The Summer is Gone.

Shehnad Jalal for Lady of the Lake (Loktak Lairembee)

India Shehnad Jalal began doing phototography as a hobby before graduating from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata, India, in 2005 with a three-year Post Graduate Diploma in Cinematography. He won his first cinematography award for his first feature, Chitrasutram (2010), at the Kerala State Film Awards. The following year, he won the Navaroze Contractor Award for the Best Documentary Cameraman at the 4th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala for A Pestering Journey (2011). Jalal’s work on Lady of the Lake was spawned out of an earlier documentary from director Haobam Paban Kumar called Floating Life (2014).

Mindia Esadze for Scary Mother (Sashishi Deda)

Georgia, Estonia Mindia Esadze is a highly-regarded cinematographer whose body of work also includes 2017 APSA nominee, Dede. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, he shot Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President (2014), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and garnered an APSA nomination for Misha Gomiashvili’s performance. He also lensed Keep Smiling (2012), which won the Don Quixote Award at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Best Film at Napoli Film Festival and was nominated for the Black Pearl Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Most recently, Esadze lensed as well as produced Month as a Day (2016), which won the top award at Tbilisi International Film Festival.

Warwick Thornton, Dylan River for Sweet Country

Australia Warwick Thornton gained international recognition with Samson & Delilah (2009), which he wrote, directed and shot. It won the Cannes Film Festival’s Caméra d’Or, multiple AFI Awards and the APSA for Best Feature Film. Thornton has made short films, documentaries, and contributed to APSA Best Feature Film nominee The Turning (2013). He worked as cinematographer on hit musical The Sapphires (2012). Dylan River is a filmmaker and the son of Warwick Thornton. Buckskin (2013) won the Sydney Film Festival’s Documentary Prize and was selected for numerous international film festivals. River’s short film Nulla Nulla (2015) premiered at the Berlin Short Film Festival, followed by Toronto International Film Festival and later won the AACTA Award for Best Short Fiction Film.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 35

BEST PERFORMANCE

BY AN ACTRESS

BEST PERFORMANCE

BY AN ACTOR Cut Mini in Emma’ (Mother) (Athirah)

Indonesia Cut Mini is a highly-regarded actress from Jakarta, Indonesia, who began her career as a model in the late 1980s. Over the last two decades she has appeared in many popular and long-running television series and soap operas, but her big screen breakthrough came in 2003 with the ensemble comedy The Gathering. In 2008 she first worked with director Riri Riza and producer Mira Lesmana in box office hit The Rainbow Troops, which earned her the Best Actress Award from the Brussels International Independent Film Festival. In 2015, Cut Mini reunited with Riza and Lesmana for Emma’ (Mother). Set in 1960s Indonesia, it was shot predominantly in the director’s homeland of Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Nata Murvanidze in Scary Mother (Sashishi Deda)

Georgia, Estonia The descendent of a prominent Georgian family of artists, thespians, and filmmakers, Nata Murvanidze began her career as an actress in the early 1990s. She has been cast in a wide range of roles in major Georgian theatre productions and feature films. Her first lead role came in Nana Janelidze’s award-winning Lullaby (1992). She later starred in Magonia (2001), which was awarded the Golden Tulip for Best Film at the Istanbul International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Seashell at San Sebastián. She has collaborated three times with Academy Award®-nominated Georgian film director Zaza Urushadze, in Three Houses (2008), Stay With Me (2011) and most recently in The Confession (2017).

Na Moon-hee in I Can Speak

Republic of Korea Korean actress Na Moon-hee is beloved, respected and acclaimed over her 56-year career. Her long list of accomplishments include feature films and television series, with a reputation for delivering scene-stealing and memorable characters. Key performances include You Are My Sunshine (2015), Harmony (2010), and Miss Granny (2015), plus small-screen drama series Dear My Friends (2016), and sitcoms like Unstoppable High Kick (2006-2007). Na’s critical and popular acclaim includes awards from the Busan Film Critics Association, Max Movie Awards, the Blue Dragon Awards, and the Grand Bell Awards of South Korea among others. She is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from MBC Entertainment Awards and the Republic of Korea’s Bo-gwan Order of Cultural Merit.

Ecem Uzun in Clair Obscur (Tereddüt)

Turkey, France, Germany, Poland Young Turkish actress Ecem Uzun was born in Istanbul and has been acting since 2010.

She has starred in teen drama television series Little Secrets, popular and high-rating Easy Times and family drama Aliye. She is currently still studying at Kadir Has University, Film & Drama Department. At the 2014 Afife Theater Awards in Turkey, Uzun won Best Young Artist of the Year. Uzun was also recently awarded a Special Mention recognition for her performance in Clair Obscur from the International Film Festival of Kerala. This is only her second feature film role, preceded by her debut lead role as Zuhal in Big Big World, which is an APSA nominee this year for Best Youth Feature Film.

Zhou Xun in Our Time Will Come (Ming Yue Ji Shi You)

People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong (PRC) Internationally acclaimed Chinese actress and singer Zhou Xun made her screen debut in Strange Tales Amongst Old and Desolute Tombs (1991). She was highly acclaimed for her role in the musical Perhaps Love (2005), and won awards from the Hong Kong Film Awards, the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, the Golden Bauhinia Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. In 2005, she also starred in The Banquet, followed by her portrayal of a maverick martial arts princess in Ming Ming (2006). She also plays the lead in Painted Skin (2008), a remake of a classic supernatural thriller of the same name. Zhou Xun was nominated for an APSA in 2009 for The Equation of Life and Death (2008).

36 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri in Wajib (Duty)

Palestine, Colombia, France, Germany, Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates Mohammad Bakri has starred in dozens of international productions. In 2004, he won the Bronze Leopard Award for Best Actor at the Locarno Festival for Private (2004). Other notable acting credits include The Olive Harvest (2003), Beyond the Walls (1984), Haifa (1996) and Hanna. K (1983). He was previously APSA-nominated for Laila’s Birthday in 2009.

Saleh Bakri is the son of Mohammad Bakri and brother to Adam Bakri (an APSA nominee in 2013 for Omar). Saleh broke out with The Band’s Visit (2007), for which he won awards from the Israeli Film Academy and Jerusalem Film Festival. Other notable credits include Annemarie Jacir’s Salt of This Sea (2008) and Salvo (2013), which won multiple awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paolo Ballesteros in Die Beautiful

Philippines Paolo Ballesteros is a high-profile and much-loved actor, television host and comedian known for his impeccable impersonations and character portrayals. Since his breakthrough in the early 2000s, he has accumulated more than 35 credits across film and television, and has been one of the co-hosts of the Philippine’s long-running noontime show Eat Bulaga! since 2001. Ballesteros has received more than 15 awards, including the Best Actor award from Tokyo International Film Festival, Kerala International Film Festival and the Metro Manila Film Festival. He is also known internationally for his makeup transformations, amassing more than four-million social media followers.

Navid Mohammadzadeh in No Date, No Signature (Bedoune Tarikh, Bedoune Emza)

Islamic Republic of Iran Navid Mohammadzadeh is an acclaimed and prolific stage actor whose film credits include Among the Clouds (2008) and Fat Shaker (2013), which won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He appeared in Hooman Seyedi’s feature debut 13 (2014), winner of Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents Award. Selected for the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival and winner of three main awards at Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talents, writer/director Reza Dormishian’s I’m Not Angry! (2014) was Mohammadzadeh’s feature lead debut for which he received his first APSA nomination.

Rajkummar Rao in Newton

India Rajkummar Rao’s breakthrough role came in the 2013 Hindi drama film Kai Po Che directed

by Abhishek Kapoor, which had its world premiere in the Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama section. He recently appeared in Queen (2014) and Trapped (2017). Rao has twice worked with director Hansal Mehta, winning the Filmfare Award, the National Film Award for Best Actor and Critics Best Actor for his performance in Shahid (2013). He was nominated for a Filmfare Award for his performance in Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh, playing opposite Manoj Bajpayee, an APSA winner of Best Performance by an Actor in 2016.

Koji Yakusho in The Third Murder (Sandome no Satsujin)

Japan Multi-award winning actor Koji Yakusho dominated film awards ceremonies in Japan in 1996 as lead actor in the films Shall We Dance?, Sleeping Man, and Shabu Gokudo. He appeared as the lead in Shohei Imamura’s Palme d’Or winner The Eel (1997) and received the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for Cure (1997). He later won acting prizes for the Cannes-premiered Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001) and The World of Kanako (2014). For his outstanding achievements in the creative field, Yakusho received the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan in 2012.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 37

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AWARD UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF UNESCO Kore-eda Hirokazu for The Third Murder (Sandome no Satsujin)

Japan Kore-eda Hirokazu is one of Japan’s most highly regarded auteurs. His directorial debut Maborosi (1995) won the 52nd Venice International Film Festival’s Golden Osella Prize. He received international acclaim and accolades for After Life (1999), Distance (2001), Nobody Knows (2004), Hana (2006), Still Walking (2008) and Air Doll (2009), which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. I Wish (2011) was nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film at APSA in 2012. Like Father, Like Son (2013) competed at Cannes for the Palme d’Or and was awarded theJury Prize.

The film also received two APSA nominations for Best Feature Film and Achievement in Directing.

The Third Murder is Kore-eda’s second nomination for Achievement in Directing at APSA.

Centaur - Kyrgyzstan, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands

Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat Aktan Arym Kubat’s sixth feature follows Centaur, a quiet, small and modest man who lives a simple life in a small Kyrgyzstan village. He is respected among his neighbours, a loving father of a little boy who doesn’t speak and the husband of young, deaf-mute Maripa. His most deeply held belief is that that Kyrgyz people, once united and invincible thanks to their horses, are being punished by the Heavens for misusing that power.

Beyond suspicion, Centaur liberates horses from their stables, racing through the night and praying for forgiveness to write off the curse. But when the truth of his secret emerges, he will need to decide the destiny of his family, co-villagers and himself.

Dede - Georgia, Croatia, Netherlands, Qatar, United Kingdom

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan for Sexy Durga

Directed by Mariam Khatchvani Set in 1992 amid the remote Ushguli community of Georgia’s Svaneti province in the country’s northwest, Dede is the story of Dina, a young woman who challenges the centuries-old traditions and superstitions that rule day-to-day life. Dina’s grandfather has arranged for her to marry soldier David, but she rejects him in favour of handsome Gedi. Both men have recently returned from the Georgian Civil War where Gedi saved David’s life. Dina and Gedi’s elopement tramples on traditional Svaneti culture, but her refusal to abide by tradition will cost her more than she could imagine. Shot on location in the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ushguli, the film is director Mariam Khatchvani’s debut feature.

India Based in Kerala, India, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is a Zoology and Law graduate who moved into the world of independent cinema in 2001. He co-formed the Kazhcha Film Forum to make independent movies through crowd funding, which enabled him to direct three short films and one feature film. His Cinema Cab initiative, the travelling cinema movement for promoting indie films in Kerala, has received much acclaim. As a director, his debut feature film Oraalppokkam (2014) won Best Director Award at the Kerala State Film Awards alongside FIPRESCI and NETPAC awards at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). His second film Ozhivudivasathe Kali (2015) won the Kerala State Film Awards’ Best Film prize and once again the FIPRESCI award at IFFK.

Mouly Surya for Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak)

Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand Mouly Surya is a Jakarta-based filmmaker who is considered one of the most promising female filmmakers in Indonesia. After earning her BA in Media and Literature from Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, Surya obtained an MA in Film and Television from Bond University, Queensland. Her debut film, Fiksi (2008), premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and won numerous awards including Best Director at the Jakarta International Film Festival. After cowriting Kambing Jantan (2009), her second directorial feature What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love (2013) was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema – Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival. Besides making films, she teaches a directing class in Jakarta.

Ana Urushadze for Scary Mother (Sashishi Deda)

Georgia, Estonia Ana Urushadze hails from Georgia and was born in Tbilisi in 1990 and graduated from the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Georgia State Film University (TAFU) in 2013. While studying, she directed several short films including Ideas (2010) and One Man Loved Me (2012).

Scary Mother, Urushadze’s feature film debut, has won her several awards including the Cineuropa Award from the Sarajevo Film Festival and Best First Feature from the Locarno Festival, where it was also awarded the Youth Jury Award and was in competition for the coveted Golden Leopard. Scary Mother has been selected as Georgia’s Official Submission for the 90th Academy Awards®.

Andrey Zvyagintsev for Loveless (Nelyubov)

Russian Federation, Belgium, France, Germany Andrey Zvyagintsev is one of Russia’s most internationally respected directors. His feature directorial debut was The Return (2003), a low-budget family drama that became an international critical triumph, and the first post-Soviet Union Russian film to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. His next features were The Banishment (2007), Elena (2011) and Leviathan (2014), the latter of which won the Golden Globe® and was nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film. It also won Best Feature Film at APSA in 2014. Loveless saw Zvyagintsev’s third nomination for Achievement in Directing at APSA, following nominations for Leviathan and a nomination resulting in a High Commendation for Elena.

38 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Die Beautiful - Philippines

Directed by Jun Robles Lana Prolific Filipino director Jun Robles Lana’s Die Beautiful is the story of Trisha, a transgender woman who dies suddenly while on stage being crowned in a beauty pageant. Her last wish was to be presented as a different celebrity on each of the seven nights of her wake, but her conservative father wants to bury her as a man. Trisha’s friends are left with no choice but to steal her body and hold the wake in secret. As Trisha is transformed into her beloved idols, her friends also look back at the colourful and extraordinary roles she has led as a son, daughter, sister, mother, friend, lover, wife and, ultimately, a queen.

Honeygiver Among the Dogs (Munmo Tashi Khyidron) - Bhutan

Directed by Dechen Roder Detective Kinley is sent to a remote region of Bhutan to investigate the disappearance of a Buddhist nun. He soon goes undercover and enters a risky alliance with his only suspect, a mysterious and alluring young woman named Choden, known to the villagers as a demoness. As Choden draws Kinley into her world, his boss takes him off the case, sending Kinley spiraling into delirium and nightmares. Honeygiver Among the Dogs is the debut feature by Bhutanese director Dechen Roder, one of the Himalayan nation’s few female directors. Her film – the first APSA nominee from Bhutan – merges spirituality and tradition with the classic hallmarks of film-noir genre.

Lady of the Lake (Loktak Lairembee) - India

Directed by Haobam Paban Kumar In the North Indian state of Manipur, a depressed fisherman named Tomba comes across a gun. Tomba’s floating hamlet on the Loktak Lake has been uprooted by government intervention as homes constructed on the floating biomasses are burned and destroyed, leaving the fishing community devastated. Almost catatonic with the powerlessness of his situation, Tomba undergoes a major change as he marvels at the gun’s power as a tool of selfprotection. He transforms into an assertive man who believes that the weapon will solve all his problems. But the entrance of a mysterious night-time visitor will change his destiny. Lady of the Lake is the narrative feature debut from documentary filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 39

BEST FEATURE FILM

JURY GRAND PRIZE Angels Wear White (Jia Nian Hua) - People’s Republic of China, France

The Jury Grand Prize is a special award offered at the discretion of the APSA International Jury. This prestigious honour is a means of recognising the artistic contribution of any key creative attached to the years’ nominated films. In APSA’s first decade, the Jury Grand Prize was won by the likes of Asghar Farhadi for About Elly (2009), Samuel Maoz for Lebanon (2010) and Anurag Kashyap for Gangs of Wasseypur (2012).

Produced by Sean Chen; Co-Produced by Alain de la Mata In a small seaside town in southern China, a scandal breaks out when two schoolgirls are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. Mia, a teenager who was working on reception that night, is the only witness, but out of fear of losing her job and revealing her complicated working status, she remains silent. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Wen, one of the victims, struggles to find support from her divorced parents as she faces the overwhelming situation. With the girls’ credibility in doubt and the accused an influential man, the police investigation quickly stalls. Trapped in a world that offers them neither safety nor justice, Mia and Wen have to find their own way out.

Foxtrot - Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland

Produced by Michael Weber, Viola Fügen, Eitan Mansuri, Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Michel Merkt Is life the result of meaningless, chaotic chance, or is chance itself a sophisticated, well-calculated plan? Told through three acts, Foxtrot is the story of a father and son dealing with loss, grief, and the futility of war. The son, a soldier, is serving at a secluded army checkpoint, a world away from his family where only a passing camel cures the boredom. The father, struggling with his own past, receives some devastating news about his son, before fate intervenes. Revolving around a family that falls apart, Foxtrot is about love challenged by pain, about coming to terms with life and about the gap between the things in our control and those that are not.

Gangs of Wasseypur India

A Gentle Creature (Krotkaya) - France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands

Produced by Marianne Slot; Co-Produced by Valentina Mikhaleva, Galina Sementseva, Lev Karakhan, Gunnar Dedio, Uljana Kim, Peter Warnier, Marc van Warmerdam, Serge Lawrenyuk

A woman lives alone on the outskirts of her Russian village. One day she receives a returned care package that she had sent to her incarcerated husband. Shocked and confused, the woman has no choice but to travel to the prison in the remote Siberian region of the country in search of an explanation. So begins the story of a meek woman and her battle against this impenetrable fortress, the prison, and the bureaucratic nightmare she becomes embroiled in where the forces of social evil are constantly at work. Braving violence and humiliation in the face of all opposition, she embarks on a blind and often confounding and surreal quest for justice.

A Man of Integrity (Lerd) - Islamic Republic of Iran

Produced by Mohammad Rasoulof; Co-Produced by Kaveh Farnam, Rozita Hendijanian, Michal Křeček Reza and his family lead a simple life working on his goldfish farm in a northern Iranian village.

Nearby, a private company with close links to the government and local authorities has taken control of nearly every aspect of regional life where shareholders accumulate wealth, power and land by pushing local farmers and small business owners to relinquish their properties. While many villagers are coerced into joining the network of corruption, Reza strives to resist and to preserve his farm. He soon realises that he can no longer stand up to this powerful web of corruption, and resigns to start a new life elsewhere. The company, however, decides to raise the stakes.

About Elly (Darbareye Elly) Islamic Republic of Iran

Sweet Country - Australia

Produced by Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey; Co-Produced by David Tranter Inspired by real events, Sweet Country is a period western set in the uncompromising outback of the Northern Territory, Australia in 1929. When Aboriginal stockman Sam kills a racist white station owner in self-defense, Sam and his wife, Lizzie, go on the run. They are pursued across the outback, through glorious but harsh desert country, by Sergeant Fletcher who leads the posse with the help of Aboriginal tracker Archie and local landowners Fred Smith and Mick Kennedy. Sam is an expert bushman and he has little difficulty outlasting them. However, when the health of his pregnant wife becomes too much to ignore, Sam decides to turn himself in. But will justice be served?

Lebanon (Levanon) Israel, France, Germany

Actress Youn Yuh-jung accepting the Jury Grand Prize Award for The Bacchus Lady at the 10th APSA Ceremony, 2016.

40 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 41

FIAPF AWARD RECIPIENT

PREVIOUS FIAPF AWARD WINNERS:

“WHEN I TRY TO START A PROJECT, I ALWAYS ASK MYSELF IF I’M SCARED TO TAKE IT. BECAUSE IF IT DOESN’T SCARE ME, IT’S NOT WORTH DOING.”

BIANCA BALBUENA Philippines

2016: Manoochehr Mohammadi (Producer, Islaming Republic of Iran) 2015: Essad Younis (Actress, Producer, Distributor; Egypt) 2014: Emile Sherman (Producer, Australia) 2013: Lee Choon-yun (Producer, Republic of Korea) 2012: Ryuichi Sakamoto (Composer, Japan) 2011: Zhang Yimou (Producer, Director; People’s Republic of China) 2010: Christine Hakim (Actress, Producer; Indonesia)

At just 30 years of age, Bianca Balbuena has already made great strides in the international film industry. A producer and writer (and even an actress on occasion), Balbuena made a splash when she co-founded Epicmedia Productions Inc., a company of which she is also CEO. Epicmedia has produced over 25 feature films, most notably Pepe Dionko’s Clash (Engkwentro), which won two awards at the 2009 Venice Film Festival including the Venice Horizons Award, and Filipino icon auteur Lav Diaz’s eight-hour A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016), which was awarded the Alfred Bauer Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Bianca Balbuena, Viddsee Buzz (2016)

2009: Isao Matsuoka (Executive, Japan) 2008: Yash Chopra (Producer, Director; India) 2007: Dr. George Miller (Producer, Director, Writer; Australia)

With her mission to strengthen collaborations within the region and help deserving directors bring their films to the global scale, Balbuena has attended Produire Au Sud, Rotterdam Producers Lab, Talent Campus Tokyo, Cannes’ La Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde, EAVE Ties That Bind and Berlinale Talent Project Market where she won the ARTE Prize for her film, Above The Clouds (2014), her first venture into French co-production. She has mentored in film labs and also served on film festival juries in Fribourg and Durban.

She has produced films which have premiered and won awards at festivals such as San Sebastián, Toronto, Busan, Tokyo, Thessaloniki, Rotterdam, Taipei Golden Horse and Karlovy Vary.

In the Philippines, she is best known for producing Antoinette Jadaone’s That Thing Called Tadhana (2014), which became one of the most successful and profitable independent films in Philippines box office history. She was also nominated for Best Foreign Producer at the Madrid International Film Festival.

In 2015, she co-produced the Australian/Filipino coproduction Beast, which had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festivals around Australia.

The next collaboration between Bianca Balbuena and Lav Diaz is his upcoming musical feature The Season of the Devil (Ang Panahon ng Halimaw), which will premiere in early 2018. She is also currently producing Bradley Liew’s Motel Acacia, which was part of the 2017 Jerusalem Sam Spiegel International Film Lab and has been supported by BiFan’s NAFF IT Project and EAVE Ties That Bind. Recently, Balbuena also produced Liew’s debut feature, Singing in Graveyards (2016), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival Critics Week and was chosen to be In Competition at the 2017 Asia Pacific Screen Awards along with yet another film she produced, Gerardo Calagui’s Those Long Haired Nights (2017).

Through the ever-growing list of industry accomplishments, Bianca believes that cinema is our voice of struggle and hope in these dark times, a powerful voice that has the ability to affect change.

42 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Production still from Above the Clouds Philippines

A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery Philippines

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 43

OFFICIAL SUBMITTING MEMBER ORGANISATIONS COMING HOME

IS NICE BUT

TA K I N G O F F I S W H E R E T H E E XC I T E M E N T L I V E S

AFGHANISTAN Roya Film House AUSTRALIA Screen Producers Australia AZERBAIJAN Narimanfilm MMC BANGLADESH Dhaka International Film Festival BHUTAN Bhutan Film Association FIJI Film Fiji

H E R E ’ S TO LO O K I N G U P

FRENCH POLYNESIA FIFO (Festival International Du Film Documentaire Oceanien)

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN* The Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds - Khaneh Cinema

PHILIPPINES Movie Producers and Distributors Association of the Philippines

ISRAEL Israel Film Fund

QATAR Doha Film Institute

JORDAN Royal Film Commission Jordan

REPUBLIC OF KOREA Korean Film Producers Association

KAZAKHSTAN JSC Kazakhfilm

SINGAPORE Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore

LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC Vientianale International Film Festival MACAO (PRC) Macao Cultural Centre

GEORGIA Georgian National Film Centre

MALAYSIA FINAS (National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia)

HONG KONG (PRC) Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Ltd

MONGOLIA Culture Distributor LLC

INDIA* Film Federation of India

NEPAL Nepal Film Producers’ Association

INDONESIA Indonesian Motion Picture Producers Association

NEW ZEALAND New Zealand Film Commission

APROFI (Association of Indonesian Film Producers)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA Centre for Social and Creative Media, The University of Goroka

IRAQ Duhok International Film Festival

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA* China Film Producers Association

SRI LANKA Asian Film Centre TAIWAN (PRC) Taiwan Film Institute THAILAND Mosquito Films Distribution TURKEY* SE-YAP (Film Producers’ Association of Turkey) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Dubai International Film Festival UZBEKISTAN Uzbekkino National Cinema Agency VANUATU Further Arts VIETNAM Vietnam Cinema Department *denotes a FIAPF Member Organisation

CONSULTING ORGANISATIONS APSA engages with film organisations and individuals that are recognised for their specialised knowledge and importance in promoting films. They provide valuable advice and assistance to APSA in many key activities such as film submissions and communicating with filmmakers from their respective countries. APSA would like to thank and acknowledge the following for their contribution to the 2017 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards:

CANADA Toronto International Film Festival LEBANON Jocelyne Saab (APSA Academy Member) REPUBLIC OF KOREA Korean Film Council (KOFIC)

V I R G I N AU ST R A L I A I S A P R O U D PA R T N E R O F T H E A S I A PAC I F I C S C R E E N AWA R D S 11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 45

IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS

ACADEMY IN FOCUS

IMAGES ARE INDICATIVE ONLY & SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Quality of life and quality of residential communities through sustainable development are everything to R & F Property Australia. One of Asia’s leading Companies, now seeks to make its mark in the local property development industry through utilising decades of experience to construct quality buildings perfectly suited to the local market.

Sexy Durga India

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 47

ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY NURTURING FILMMAKERS AROUND THE GLOBE The Asia Pacific Screen Academy was formed in 2008 and comprises all APSA nominees, winners, jurors, and International Nominations Council members. They number more than 1,000 of the world’s most successful and acclaimed film professionals and practitioners including winners of the Palme d’Or, the Golden Bear, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Academy Award® for Best Picture.

Led by the President of the Academy, Australian screen icon Jack Thompson AM PhD, it serves to foster dialogue and development, furthering the common interests of Asia Pacific filmmakers and connecting them professionally as well as with those around the globe who believe in the region as a place to create and produce their art.

A four-day industry program is run every year in the lead up to the APSA ceremony. Featuring a collection of panels, screenings and networking functions, this program acts as both a welcome to the Academy and as a means of strengthening connections between new and current members.

Furthermore, in response to the Academy’s global reach, a variety of international events are held throughout the year.

Since 2010, APSA and the Academy have supported members through the crucial process of script development via the Motion Picture Association (MPA) APSA Academy Film Fund, providing four annual grants of US$25,000. To date, more than US$800,000 has been granted to Academy members to help bring their stories to the screen.

In celebration of last year’s ten-year Asia Pacific Screen Awards milestone, a new, important award achievement was introduced.

48 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

The Young Cinema Award in Partnership with the Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) and Griffith Film School (GFS) is an important award that continues in 2017. This prestigious honour recognises the abundant emerging talent of Asia Pacific, something that increases in prevalence in the APSA competition each year.

Sweet Country Australia

The Asia Pacific Screen Lab is an immersive yearlong development incubator/mentoring program.

In partnership with Griffith Film School, the Academy and the Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema, it supports emerging filmmakers from Asia Pacific, enabling film coproduction across the region.

APSA and the Academy also collaborate with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) to present an award each year to a filmmaker who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the Asia Pacific region.

In 2011 the European Film Academy (EFA) formed an alliance with APSA and the Academy, acknowledging the similar multicultural aims and outcomes of both organisations. An EFA Academy member sits on an APSA Jury each year in recognition of this Academy coalition.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 49

MESSAGE FROM THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION PROUD MAJOR PARTNER

Cinema in the Asia Pacific continues to attract a growing audience. More people are seeing more movies in more cinemas in this region than ever before. This is good news for filmmakers with new stories to tell.

OF THE

ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS

The importance and relevance of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) reflects the growing impact of cinema in the region. The standout talent of Asia Pacific needs to be recognised, and these Awards have become the perfect platform for such a task.

Additionally, the associated Asia Pacific Screen Academy is represented by an astonishing collective of over 1100 filmmakers, many of whom can track their flourishing film careers with the expanding influence of the APSAs on the world of cinema.

T R A V E L B R I L L I A N T L YSM Michael C. Ellis President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific Region, Motion Picture Association

We are proud to partner with APSA for the eighth year in the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, which is an initiative that continues to expand and grow from strength to strength.

Many of the projects developed through this Fund have not only been produced, but have also gone on to find significant audiences around the world, and received many awards.

Wajib Palestine, Colombia, France, Germany, Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates

It’s no secret that many recipients have found immediate success and acclaim on the world stage. Not only was Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation honoured with an incredible number of awards, including the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, but others such as Maryam Ebrahimi’s No Burqas Behind Bars have gone on to win a prestigious International Emmy, ensuring that compelling documentaries also found their mark. Memories on Stone by Shawkat Amin Korki and Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib have both been chosen to represent their filmmakers home country (Iraq and Palestine respectively) in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards®. Additionally, A Separation, No Burqas Behind Bars and Memories on Stone received special screenings at the MPAA headquarters in Washington DC. These are shining examples of the film fund’s international reach and relevance, boosted even further by world-recognised names like Rolf de Heer, Lee Chang-dong and Haifaa Al Mansour whose winning works are still in development. The evolving list of recipients is a testament to the great work the film fund panellists do each year to honour exemplary cinema.

I would like to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund selection panellists, given expert direction and chaired by Andrew Pike. Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee and Chinese producer and distributor Alexandra Sun will bring to the process a unique perspective and vast experience.

We congratulate Brisbane City Council for its important contribution to the recognition of cinema in the Asia Pacific region and its ongoing support of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the associated Academy.

We also congratulate all of the filmmakers involved in the Asia Pacific Screen Awards as we join you in celebrating the 11th anniversary of this extraordinary film event.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 51

MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND

MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND PANEL

Now in its eighth year, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund is a partnership between the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy. It was created to support, at script stage, new feature film projects originated by APSA Academy members and their colleagues across the Asia Pacific. 28 projects from 19 Asia Pacific countries and regions have so far been supported by the initiative. Recipients cover newcomers and world-famous auteurs alike including Asghar Farhadi, Rolf de Heer, Lee Chang-dong, Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, Mohammad Rasoulof, Cliff Curtis, and the first female director from Saudi Arabia, Haifaa Al Mansour.

A nominee this year for Best Performance by an Actor, Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib began its life as an MPA APSA Academy Film Fund submission in 2015. It was also recently chosen as the official selection to represent Palestine at the 90th Academy Awards®. With more and more submissions every year, this extraordinary initiative is proving to have a major effect on film across the region and reflects the MPA’s commitment to developing the work of storytellers from right across the Asia Pacific.

MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND RECIPIENTS 2016 Miss Camel, Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia) Morning Star, Joo Young Park (South Korea) Mr Ward’s Incredible Journey, Rolf de Heer (Australia) The River, Emir Baigazin (Kazakhstan)

2013 Canoe, Ainsley Gardiner (New Zealand) Fall Out, Jeannette Hereniko (Marshall Islands) Karbala Orchestra, Reis Çelik (Turkey, Iraq) The Monkey Mask, Garin Nugroho (Indonesia)

2015 Bandit, Ami Drozd (Israel) Wajib, Annemarie Jacir (Palestine) The Fox Boy, Cliff Curtis (New Zealand) Music in a Village Named 1PB, Surabhi Sharma (India)

2012 The Guardians, Kath Shelper (Australia) Amnesia, Mohammad Rasoulof (Islamic Republic of Iran) It All Started with a Poster, Suha Arraf (Israel) The Wild Pear Tree, Zeynep Özbatur Atakan (Turkey)

52 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

TANNISHTHA CHATTERJEE

ALEXANDRA SUN

Andrew Pike is a film distributor, historian and documentary filmmaker. His company, Ronin Films, began theatrical distribution in 1974, focusing on films from Asia Pacific and Europe including many Chinese Fifth Generation films in the 1980s, and Japanese classics. The company’s Australian releases include Baz Luhrmann’s BAFTA-winning Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Scott Hicks’ Academy Award®-winning Shine (1996).

Tannishtha Chatterjee is a world-recognised Indian film actress. Her breakthrough role came in the adaptation of Monica Ali’s beloved novel, Brick Lane (2007), for which she received a British Independent Film Award nomination alongside Judi Dench and Anne Hathaway. She later appeared in the Academy Award®-winning Anna Karenina (2012) and APSA-nominated films Monsoon Shootout (2013) and Sunrise (2014).

Alexandra Sun was born in Hong Kong and studied in Australia and America. She is an award-winning producer and distributor who has worked in production, international sales, film financing and acquisition in China, Australia, the US and France.

His directorial debut was Angels of War (1983), a documentary about Papua New Guinea’s involvement in WWII that won an Australian Film Institute Award. He has directed other documentaries including The Chifleys of Busby Street (2008), Emily in Japan (2009) and co-directed Message from Mungo (2014) with Ann McGrath, winning a United Nations Association Media Award. Andrew Pike also produced Across the Plateau (2007) for Chinese director Zhang Zeming.

Tannishtha went on to star in the Australian romantic comedy UNindian (2015) and appeared in Lion (2016), which received six Academy Award® nominations. For her lead role as Rani in Leena Yadev’s Parched (2016), Chatterjee won awards from the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Stockholm Film Festival, and Jaipur International Film Festival. Parched was selected as the Opening Night film of the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival, and received an APSA nomination for Best Screenplay.

In 2007, Andrew Pike received an Order of Australia Medal and an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra. For ten years until 2012, he served on various iterations of the Board of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and is Director of the 2017 Canberra International Film Festival. He also co-authored the non-fiction book Australian Film 1900-1977 with Ross Cooper.

Other significant roles include Angry Indian Goddesses (2015), which won audience awards at the Toronto and Rome film festivals, and Dekh Indian Circus (2011) for which she won a prestigious Indian National Film Award. Tannishtha was on the APSA International Jury in 2010 and co-hosted the 2011 APSA ceremony and was Jury President of 2017’s Mooov Film Festival.

Australia

The story of Asghar Farhadi bringing his Academy Award®-winning film A Separation to reality through the inaugural round of film fund recipients is now a part of APSA lore. Yet we also can’t forget the likes of Shawkat Amin Korki’s Memories on Stone, which won an APSA in 2014, and Maryam Ebrahimi’s No Burqas Behind Bars, which was awarded an International Emmy.

2014 On Screen Off Record, Signe Byrge Sørensen (Denmark) Corridors of Power, Dror Moreh (Israel) Flower, Panah Panahi (Islamic Republic of Iran) No Land’s Man, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh)

ANDREW PIKE OAM

A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) Islamic Republic of Iran

2011

No Burqas Behind Bars, Maryam Ebrahimi (Afghanistan) Those Days, Payman Maadi (Islamic Republic of Iran) The Cricket Tree, Pryas Gupta (India) Memories on Stone, Shawkat Amin Korki (Iraqi Kurdistan) 2010 A Separation, Asghar Farhadi (Islamic Republic of Iran) Burning, Lee Chang Dong (Republic of Korea) The Cremator, Peng Tao (People’s Republic of China) Ayka/My Little One, Sergey Dvortsevoy (Russian Federation)

India

People’s Republic of China

Her sales company The Film Library has successfully discovered and launched many Asian talents and their acclaimed works, such as Wang Quanan’s Jingzhe (2004), Xie Fei’s Song of Tibet (1999) and iconic Japanese animation Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999) and classics by Huang Jianxin and Ronny Yu. She has also produced Li Yang’s award-winning Blind Mountain (2007) which premiered in Cannes and Songtaijia’s River (2015) which competed in Berlin and won an APSA for Best Youth Feature Film.

Alexandra previously worked for the Australian Film Finance Corporation (now Screen Australia) before setting up The Film Library in Los Angeles and China. She has been invited as jury member, programmer or speaker at UNESCO, Telluride and Moscow International Film Festivals, The Aspen Institute, International Film Festival for Children and Youth (Iran) and the Silk Road International Film Festival. She is also the founder of the Sun Yat-Sen Cultural Foundation.

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 53

1000 MEMBERS AND COUNTING

APSA HONOURS ALL 1115 MEMBERS OF THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY

Aaron PEDERSEN Aarti BAJAJ Abbas KIAROSTAMI Aboozar POOR MOHAMMADI Adam BAKRI Adam ELLIOT Adam ISENBERG Aden YOUNG Adilkhan YERZHANOV

LU Dong LÜ Yue LU Zhixin LÜ Zhong Luis ALBERTO SCALELLA Luis C SUAREZ Lynn LEE Lynne WANG LYU Songye Lyudmila STEBLYANKO MA Ke Mabel CHEUNG Maciej STUHR

Akie NAMIKI Akshay M MUSLE Aktan ARYM KUBAT Alain DE LA MATA Alan FINNEY OAM Alan MCALEX Albert LEE Albert YEUNG Aleksei BALABANOV Aleksei GUSKOV

Mahmoud RAZAVI Mai MASRI Maithili RAO Majid MAJIDI Makarand MANE Malcolm TURNER Malini FONSEKA Malou SANTOS Mamoru HOSODA Mamoru OSHII Mandy WALKER

Alexei POPOGREBSKY Alexey FEDORCHENKO Alexey GERMAN JR Alexey TSITSILIN Alexs STADERMANN Ali JAAFAR Ali MOHAMMAD GHASEMI Alireza AGHAKHANI

Marg SLATER Mariam KHATCHVANI Marianna SARDAROVA Marianne SLOT Marina PERALES MARHUENDA Mark ALBISTON Mark IVANIR Mark LEE PING-BING Mark TURNBULL

Aditya CHOPRA Adiyanto SUMARJONO Adolfo ALIX JR Adrienne MCKIBBINS Agrippina STEKLOVA Ahmad PUAD ONAH AHN Jae-hun Ainsley GARDINER Ajay G RAI Alex LAW Alex WEIGHT Alexander BEHSE Alexander CHISTYAKOV Alexander RODNYANSKY Alexandr BOYARSKY Alexandra SUN Alexandre MALLET-GUY Alexei ARSENTIEV

Madeleine EKMAN Madeleine HETHERTON Madhukar R MUSLE Maggie MILES Mahboob RAHMAN Mahdi FLEIFEL Mahdi MONIRI Mahendra PERERA Mahesh YEWALE Maneesh SHARMA Manit SRIWANICHPOOM Manoj BAJPAYEE Manoochehr MOHAMMADI Marc BASCHET Marc VAN WARMERDAM Marcin MALASZCZAK Marek ROZENBAUM

Alisher KHAMIDHODJAEV Aljosha KLIMOV Altynai KOICHUMANOVA Amber LATIFF Ami DROZD Amir MUHAMMAD Amira DIAB Amit V MASURKAR Amit VIRMANI

Marlon RIVERA Martin HAGEMANN Martin HAMPEL Martin WOOD Mary STEPHEN Maryam EBRAHIMI Maryanne REDPATH Masa SAWADA Masahiko MINAMI Masahiro ANDÔ

Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV Andy ZHANG Anisul HOQUE Anja UHLAND ANN Dong-hee Ann GATMAYTAN Ann Marie FLEMING Anna DZIAPSHIPA Anna MCLEISH Anna VAN DER WEE

Maxim DROZDOV Maxim FADEEV Maxim VOLKOV Maxine WILLIAMSON Maya KENIG Maya SANBAR Mayank TEWARI Maziar MIRI Meenakshi SHEDDE Mehdi HOMAYOUNFAR

Antoine MARTIN Anurag KASHYAP Aparna SEN Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL Ari FOLMAN Ari SIHASALE Armagan BALLANTYNE Aruna VASUDEV Asako NISHIKAWA

MHz Film Sdn Bhd Mi-re KIM Miao PU Michael FUKUSHIMA Michael HAWKINS Michael James ROWLAND Michael UWEMEDIMO Michael WEBER Michal KŘEČEK

Amr ALKAHTANI Ana URUSHADZE Dr Andi SPARK Andreas THIEL Andrei PROSHKIN Andrés VICENTE GOMEZ Andrew KOROGYI Andrew PIKE OAM Andrey GALAT

Masahiro MOTOKI MASAOKA Yasuhiro MATSUDA Hiroko MATSUO Ryôichirô MATSUSHITA Keiko MATSUZAKI Kaoru Matt NORMAN Matthew CORMACK Max MANNIX

Anne DÉMY-GEROE Anne KÖHNCKE Anne-Dominique TOUSSAINT Annemarie JACIR Annie GOLDSON Anonymous Indonesians Ansgar FRERICH Anthony CHEN

Mehdi RAHMANI Mehmet AKTAŞ Mehran KASHANI Mehrdad OSKOUEI Mehrdad SEDDIQIAN Melanie COOMBS Melanie SIMKA Menardo JIMENEZ Merata MITA Merila ZAREIE

Asef BARAKI Asghar FARHADI Aslıhan GÜRBÜZ Atalay TAŞDIKEN Atia JABARAH AL-DARADJI Atsutoshi UMEZAWA Atul KULKARNI Auraeus SOLITO Aurit ZAMIR Avi KLEINBERGER

Michel BALAGUÉ Michel MERKT Midi Z Mike DOWNEY Mike ELLIS Mikhail KRICHMAN Mikio ONO Mila AUNG-THWIN Mila ROZANOVA Mindia ESADZE Mine VARGI MING Zhenjian

Avid LIONGOREN Avinash ARUN Avraham PIRCHI Ayça DAMGACI Ayman JAMAL Aziza SEMAAN Azize TAN BAEK Seung-bin Baher AGBARIYA Bahman GHOBADI

Mirlan ABDYKALYKOV Mirsad PURIVATRA Misha GOMIASHVILI Misha SHPRITS MIYAZAKI Gorô MIYAZAKI Hayao Mohamed ADAMALY Mohamed HEFZY

Bill MILLER Bjarte MØRNER TVEIT Bob MOORE BONG Joon-ho Boris KHLEBNIKOV Brian GOTHONG TAN Brillante MA MENDOZA Bruce BERESFORD Bryan MASON

Mohammad HOSSEIN GHASEMI Mohammad RASOULOF Mohammadreza SABERI Mohammed Ali NAQVI Mohsen ABDOLVAHAB Moisés COSÍO Molly REYNOLDS Moshe EDERY

Carla POLKINHORN Caroleen FEENEY Cat VILLIERS Catherine DUSSART Catherine FITZGERALD Catherine JACQUES Cedomir KOLAR Cemal NOYAN Cevahir ŞAHIN

Nadezhda MARKINA Nadine CHANDRAWINATA Nadine LABAKI Nahed EL SEBAÏ NAI An Naji ABU NOWAR Najwa ABU BAKAR NAKAMURA Shinichi NAM Kyu-sun Nan ACHNAS

CHEN Kaige CHEN Weidong CHENG Er CHENG Siu-keung Chihiro KAMEYAMA Children’s Film Society of India Chilik MICHAELI CHIN Ting-chang CHO Min-Soo CHO

Natalya GOSTYUSHINA Natalya MANSKAYA Natasha MOKRITSKAYA Navid MOHAMMADZADEH Nawazuddin SIDDIQUI Naziha SYED ALI Ned VILLARAMA Negar JAVAHERIAN

Young-kag CHOI Min-sik Chris FUJIWARA Christine CAMDESSUS Christine CYNN Christine HAKIM Christoph SCHAUB Christopher DODD Christopher MARTINEZ

Nelly KARIM Nelson SHIN Nelson WOSS Nermin AYTEKIN Nesipkul OMARBEKOVA Nesra GÜRBÜZ Nik POWELL Nikos MOUTSELOS Nima JAVIDI Nima SARVESTANI Nir BERGMAN

CHUNG Mong-hong Çiğdem MATER Cliff CURTIS Conrad ALLEBLAS Corazón International Costa BOTES Creative Programs Inc. Cut MINI Daniel CONNORS Daniel CROSS

Nira BENEGAL Noel CLEARY Nora AUNOR Nozomu TAKAHASHI Nuri BILGE CEYLAN Nurman HAKIM ODAKE Satomi OH Seong-yun OHASHI Nagaharu OKIURA Hiroyuki

David JOWSEY David MACDOUGALL David SILBER David TRANTER Deane TAYLOR Deborah SZAPIRO Dechen RODER Denis OSOKIN Denis VASLIN Deniz Gamze

Otto ALDER Ounie LECOMTE Özer KIZILTAN Pablo BIGLANG-AWA Palitha PERERA Paolo BALLESTEROS PARK Chan-ok PARK Eun-kyo PARK Hongsik PARK Joo-young PARK

Bakyt MUKUL Baran KOSARI Barbara STEPHEN Barbie TUNG Barış ÖZBIÇER Bassel GHANDOUR Behnam BEHZADI Bettina BROKEMPER BI Gan Bianca BALBUENA

Mohamed JABARAH AL-DARADJI Mohammad AHMADI Mohammad ALI NAJAFI Mohammad Ali TALEBI Mohammad ATEBBAI Mohammad BAKRI Mohammad BELHAJ

Bùi Thạc CHUYÊN Bulat GALIMGEREYEV Bushra ROZZA BZ GOLDBERG CAI Shangjun Cameron BAILEY Camille LAEMLÉ Candy LEUNG CAO Yu Carl Joseph PAPA

Mostofa Sarwar FAROOKI Mouly SURYA Mubina RATTONSEY Müge KOLAT Murat AKDILEK Murat ALIYEV Mustafa DOK Mustafa KARA NA Hong-jin NA Moon-hee

Chandara SAIDNATTAR CHANG Hyung-yun Charin PENGPANICH Charles DE MEAUX Charles GILLIBERT Charles RAPAPORT CHEN Cheng CHEN Daoming CHEN Jian

Nansun SHI Naoko YAMADA Narges ABYAR Naseeruddin SHAH Naser DEHGHANI POUDEH Nasser KALAJ Nata MURVANIDZE Natalia MESHCHANINOVA Natalia PAVLENKOVA

Danis TANOVIC Danny GLOVER Darius FISHER Dariusz JABŁOŃSKI Darya EKAMASOVA Darya MOROZ Dastan ZHAPAR UULU David GERSON David GULPILIL

Oleg KIRICHENKO Oleg LOYEVSKY Oleg URUSHEV Olena YERSHOVA Olga KHLASHEVA Ömer ATAY Önder ÇAKAR Orwa NYRABIA Ossama BAWARDI Ossama MOHAMMAD

ERGÜVEN Derek WEEKS DERU Deguchi Derviş ZAIM Des PARTRIDGE Des POWER AM Dev PATEL Deven KHOTE Diana EL JEIROUDI Diana SAFAROVA Diana YURINOVA

Jung-bum PARK Shin-kyu PARK Yeong-jae Patrick CAMPBELL Paul MORALES Pauline CHAN Payman MAADI Peggy CHIAO Pema TSEDEN PENG Tao Peter DJIGIRR

Didar DOMEHRI Dmitrii DAVYDOV DONG Jinsong Doug MITCHELL Doze NIU Dror MOREH DU Jiayi DU Qingchun Dylan RIVER Ebru CEYLAN Ecem UZUN Eda ARIKAN

Peter Ho-Sun CHAN Peter LAM KIN-NGOK Peter MOYES Peter THOMPSON Peter WARNIER Petr KUBICA Phil MITCHELL Philip CHEAH Philippa KOWARSKY Philippine Science

ACS Emad BURNAT Emanuel MICHAEL Emile SHERMAN Emin ALPER Emir BAIGAZIN Endi BALBUENA ENDO Hitoshi Enis KÖSTEPEN Eran KOLIRIN Eran RIKLIS Ercan KESAL

Quentin DEMPSTER AM Ra’anan ALEXANDROWICZ Rachel PERKINS Raimond GOEBEL Rajan KHOSA Rajat KAPOOR Rajeev RAVI Rajit KAPUR Rajkummar RAO

Ehab ASSAL Ehud BLEIBERG Eiko TANAKA Eilon RATZKOVSKY Eitan MANSURI Elena GLIKMAN Elena YATSURA Elia SULEIMAN Elissa DOWN Ella MANZHEEVA Ellery RYAN

High School Foundation Pierette OMINETTI Pim HERMELING Prasanna JAYAKODY Prasanna VITHANAGE Pryas GUPTA PSHS Batch 86 Pyotr DUKHOVSKOY PYUN Kyung-woo

Eric KHOO Eric VOGEL Erkan CAN Eros DJAROT Erwin NAVARRO Esaad YOUNIS Estelle FIALON Esther KOO Eva KEMME Evgeniy ANTROPOV Evgeniya MANDZHIEVA

Rakhshan BANI-ETEMAD Rami YASIN Raphaël BERDUGO Rebecca BARRY Rebecca SUMMERTON Reef IRELAND Reha ERDEM Reis ÇELIK REN Zhonglun Renuka BALASOORIYA

Fa’afiaula SAGOTE Fabienne VONIER Fadi ISMAIL Farah KHAN Faramarz K-RAHBER Farhad ASLANI Fatemeh MOTAMED-ARYA Fatih AKIN FENG Xiaogang FENG Yuanliang

Reza DORMISHIAN Reza MIRKARIMI Reza NAJI Richard ROTHSCHILD Ritesh BATRA Rithy PANH Robert CONNOLLY Robert LEMKIN Robyn KERSHAW Rolf DE HEER Roman PAUL

Ferdinand LAPUZ Fereidoun NAJAFI Feroz ABBAS KHAN Filip REMUNDA Fiona COPLAND Firas FAYYAD Fleur KNOPPERTS Frank HENSCHKE Freddie YEO Gaël NOUAILLE

Ronald ARGUELLES Ronit AVNI Ronit ELKABETZ Ronnie SCREWVALA Rosane SAIDNATTAR Rosnah KASSIM Rozita HENDIJANIAN Rula SALAMEH Rupert LLOYD

Geoff GARDNER Geoff RODGERS George GITTOES George MILLER George OVASHVILI Georgiy DANELIYA Gerard LACROIX Gérard PONT Gerhard MEIXNER Gholam-Reza

Salomé JASHI Sam HO Samantha TAYLOR Samuel MAOZ Sanal KUMAR SASIDHARAN Sandi DUBOWSKI Sandra ITKOFF Sangye Sanjay SINGH Santosh SIVAN Sarah SHAW

Galina SEMENTSEVA Ganesh PHUKE GAO Feng Garin NUGROHO Garri BARDIN Gary GOH Gary KAM Gauri KHAN GE You Gemma ATWAL Genki KAWAMURA

Russell EDWARDS RYU Deok-hwan RYU Jung-oo Ryuichi SAKAMOTO Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI Sachiko TANAKA Sajid MANSURI Saleh BAKRI Sally AYRE-SMITH Salman ARISTO

RAMEZANI Giancarlo ABRAHAN Gina KIM Girjashanker VOHRA Gisèle AOUAD Gita FARA Glenys ROWE Gökhan TIRYAKI Golshifteh FARAHANI Gorka GÓMEZ ANDREU Gotot

Sardana SAVVINA Sasson GABAI SATO Shinsuke SAWA Takeshi Sawsan ASFARI Seah KUI LUAN Sean CHEN Semih KAPLANOĞLU Senem TÜZEN Seo-woo Serdar AKAR

PRAKOSA Graeme ISAAC Greer SIMPKIN Greg CHEW Guillaume DE SEILLE Gulmira KERIMOVA Gulnara ABIKEYEVA Gulnara SARSENOVA Gunnar DEDIO GUO Lan Bing

Serge GORDEY Serge LALOU Serge LAWRENYUK Sergei KRAVETS Sergei LOZNITSA Sergei PUSKEPALIS Sergey DVORTSEVOY Sergey LUBINETSKY Sergey MELKUMOV

GUO Yanhong Gurvindar SINGH Guy DAVIDI Guy NATTIV GWON Mi-jeong Habib AHMADZADEH Hadeel KAMAL Haifaa AL MANSOUR HAMANA Kazuya HAN Hye-jin HAN Jae-duk

Sergey SELYANOV Sergey SHTERN Sergey TROFIMOV Serik ABISHEV Setiawan DJODY Sevil DEMIRCI CAKAR Seyfi TEOMAN Shabana AZMI Shafi AGHA MOHAMMADIAN

HAN Sanping Hana AL BAYATY Hanan TURK Hani FARSI Hanna LEE Hanneke NIENS Hans DE WOLF Hans W. GEIßENDÖRFER HANSEN Liang Hany ABU-ASSAD

Shahin PARHAMI Shahram MOKRI Shahrbanoo SADAT Shalahuddin SIREGAR Shamaine BUENCAMINO Shawkat AMIN KORKI Shayesteh IRANI Shehnad JALAL Sheila TIMOTHY

Haobam IBETOMBI Haobam Paban KUMAR HARA Keiichi Harvey LISTER Hasmine KILLIP Hassan KARIMI HATANO Koubou HE Saifei Heino DECKERT Helen BARNES

Sheron DAYOC Sherwood HU Shide NYIMA Shilpa RANADE SHIM Jae-myung SHINKAI Makoto Shinobu TERAJIMA Shirley VERCRUYSSE Shoaib MANSOOR Shripal MORAKHIA

Hemal TRIVEDI Henry CRAWFORD Henryk ROMANOWSKI Hervé PENNEQUIN Hiam ABBASS HIJIRI Taguchi Hiner SALEEM HIROSHI Higa HIROYUKI Ikeda Hisako KUROSAWA

Shyam BENEGAL Siddharth ROY KAPUR Signe BYRGE SØRENSEN Siham HADDAD Simon FIELD Simon PERRY Simon YAM Simone BAUMANN Sion SONO Socorro FERNANDEZ

Bum-wook Hussain CURRIMBHOY Hussein HASSAN İbrahim ŞAHİN ICHII Miho Ifa ISFANSYAH Igor A. NOLA Igor GOUSKOV IIZUKA Toshio Ilgar NAJAF Ilya DZHINCHARADZE

Stefan KLOOS Stephen JENNER Stephen PAGE AO Steve ABBOTT Steven MCGREGOR SU Xiaowei Sudheer PALSANE SUGIYAMA Yutaka SUH Youngjoo Suha ARRAF SUN

ISHIKAWA Mitsuhisa Itai TAMIR Iván ANGELUSZ Ivan I TVERDOVSKY Ivan SEN IWASE Tomohiko Izabela WOJCIK Jack THOMPSON AM PhD Jackie CHAN Jafar PANAHI

Taika WAITITI Tainui STEPHENS TAKAHASHI Tomoyuki Takashi WATANABE Takuya ITO Tamer EL SAID Tamer LEVENT Tami LEON TAN Chui Mui TAN Fong cheng TANG Wei

Jake POLLOCK James LEONG James NOLEN Jamillah VAN DER HULST Jan CHAPMAN AO Jane PARK JANG Byungwon Janja KRALJ Janne NISKALA János RÓZSA

Tannishtha CHATTERJEE Tariq AL GHUSSEIN TATEISHI Kensuke Tatsuya NAKADAI Tatyana ILINA Tejaswini PANDIT Terence CHANG Thanassis KARATHANOS Thet SAMBATH

Jim BALLANTINE Jimmy HUANG Jimmy THE EXPLODER JIN Rui Joan CHEN Joanna MOUKARZEL Jocelyne SAAB Johannes REXIN John CHONG John DE RANTAU

Tony BARRY Tony GLORIA Torstein GRUDE Touraj ASLANI Tristram MIALL TSENG Shao-chien U-Wei BIN HAJISAARI UDA Kōnosuke UETSUKI Mikio Uliana SAVELIEVA Uljana KIM

Joslyn BARNES Judy DAVIS Julia BACHA Julie RIGG Julie RYAN Jun ROBLES LANA JUNG Jae-young JUNG Min-young K MOHAN Ka Yee (Joyce) CHAN Kaan MÜJDECI

Veronica VELASCO Vidya BALAN Vikramaditya MOTWANE Vimukthi JAYASUNDARA Vincent SHEEHAN Vincent WARD Vinod VIJAYAN Viola FÜGEN Violetta KAMINSKA

Kath SHELPER Kathryn WEIR Katja ADOMEIT Kaveh FARNAM KAWAGUCHI Noritaka Kazuhiro SÔDA Keith GRIFFITHS Kenzhebek SHAIKAKOV Kēro NANCY TAIT

WANG Qun WANG Shin-Hong WANG Shunsheng WANG Tianxing WANG Tongyuan WANG Xiaoshuai WANG Xuebo WANG Yong WANG Yu WANG Zhongjun WANG Zhonglei

KIM Jee-woon KIM Ju-kyung KIM Ki-hwan Kim LONGINOTTO KIM Min-chul KIM Soon-mo KIM Sunku KIM Tae-yong KIM Tae-yong KIM Youngjin KIM Yun-seok Kiran DEOHANS

WONG Ain-ling WU Tian-Ming Xavier ROCHER XIE Fei XIN Yukun XU Fan XU Feixue XU Xin XUE Xiaolu Yael NAHLIELI Yana TROYANOVA Yang CHAO YANG Cheng YANG Ik-june

Hollie FIFER HONG Deok-pyo HONG Qin HONG Sangsoo Hong-Joon KIM Hooman BEHMANESH HOU Hsiao-hsien HOU Keming HUANG Jianxin Humaima MALIK HUR

Soheir ABDEL KADER Solito Arts Productions Somaratne DISSANAYAKE SONG Kang-ho Songtaijia Sophie HYDE Søren Steen JESPERSEN Steen JOHANNESSEN

Ilya STEWART IM Kwon-taek IMAMURA Ken‐Ichi Ina FICHMAN Ing K Ingunn SUNDELIN Isabella HO Isabelle GLACHANT Isabelle STEAD Isao MATSUOKA Isao TAKAHATA

Xiaoxi Sunil BADAMI Sunny PAWAR Supratik SEN Surabhi SHARMA SUZUKI Toshio Svetlana USTINOVA Syed MUSHARAF SHAH Tadashi NOHARA Taha KARIMI Tahmineh MILĀNI

Javad NOROUZBEIGI Jay OZA Jayaraj RAJASEKHARAN NAIR Jean KHALIL CHAMOUN Jean-Marc FERRIERE Jeannette PAULSON HERENIKO JEON Do-yeon Jill BILCOCK

Thierry GARREL Thiyam ROMOLA DEVI Thorsten WEGENER TIAN Zhuangzhuang Timofey LOBOV Timur BEKMAMBETOV Tobias N SIEBERT Tomohiko ISHII Tony AYRES

John HARVEY John KIRBY John WOO Johnnie TO Jojo HUI Yuet-chun Jonathan GOODMAN LEVITT Joram TEN BRINK Josabeth ALONSO Joseph CEDAR Joshua OPPENHEIMER

Upendra SIDHAYE Uruphong RAKSASAD V MANIKANDAN Vahid MOUSAINE SIMANI Valentina MIKHALEVA Valerie FISCHER Valerio DE PAOLIS Vardan HOVHANNISYAN

Kaarle AHO Kamila ANDINI KANG Yi-kwan Kaori MOMOI Kareem ABEED Karl BAUMGARTNER Karoline LETH KATABUCHI Sunao KATAYAMA Kazuyoshi Katerina KOMOLOVA

Vitaly MANSKY Vitthal PATIL Vittorio STORARO Vivian QU Vladimer KATCHARAVA Vladimir BASHTA Vladimir NIKOLAEV Waleed ZUAITER WANG Baoqiang WANG Quan’an

Khalid ABDALLA Khamis MURADOV Khosro MASOUMI Khurram H. ALAVI Kiki FUNG KIM Dae-hwan KIM Dong-ho KIM Dong-won KIM Hoh Wong KIM Hye-ja KIM In-soo

WANG Zijian Warepam JHANSIRANI Warwick THORNTON Waryam SINGH SANDHU WATANABE Shigeru WEI Te-sheng WEN Jiang Whirimako BLACK Wiam SIMAV BEDIRXAN

Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV Kirin KIKI Kiumars POURAHMAD Klaus MAECK Knut OGRIS KOIKE Kentaro Kôji WAKAMATSU KOJI Yakusho Konrad NG Konstantin ERNST

YANG Tao Yaroslav ZHIVOV Yash CHOPRA Yasin MÜJDECI Yasmin AHMAD Yasmine AL MASSRI Yasuhiro YOSHIURA Yasumasa TSUCHIYA YE Jing YEON Sang-ho

KORE-EDA Hirokazu Kraisak CHOONHAVAN Kranti KANADÉ Kristina LARSEN Kriv STENDERS Kundō KOYAMA KUROSAWA Kiyoshi Kürşat ÜRESIN LAI Yiu-fai Laith MAJALI

Yerbolat TOGUZAKOV Yerkinbek PTYRALIYEV Yermek TURSUNOV YI Seung-Jun YIN Homber Yoav ROEH Yoav SHAMIR Yogesh NIKAM Yogesh VINAYAK JOSHI YONEBAYASHI

Lasantha NAWARATHNA Latika PADGAONKAR Laura POITRAS Laurent BAUDENS Laurent LAVOLÉ LEE Byung-hun LEE Chang-dong LEE Choon-yun LEE Dong-ha LEE Eun

Hiromasa YOON Ga-eun YOON Jong-bin YOON Sung-hyun Yosef BARAKI Yoshi YATABE Yoshiaki NISHIMURA YOSHIDA Yasuhiro Yoshiharu ASHINO YOUN Sung-Eun

LEE Hong-min LEE Hong-soo LEE Im-kul LEE Joon-dong LEE Joon-ik LEE Lieh LEE Mogae LEE Sang-wook LEE Sangyong LEE Seung-gu LEE Young-lan Leena YADAV Leila ZAREH Lelette BONTIA Leon EDERY Leonid YARMOLNIK Les Films de Beyrouth Leslie F GRUNBERG Lev KARAKHAN Levan KAPANADZE LI Liangwen LI Ling LI Xudong LIAO Fan

LIN Bing LIN Nianxiu LIN Sheng-wen Linda CORDOVA Lior ASHKENAZI Liran ATZMOR LIU Jian Lixin FAN Lizzette ATKINS Lord David PUTTNAM Louis SUTHERLAND LU Chuan

YOUN Yuh-jung YU Nan Yuichiro SAITO Yuji SADAI Yuka SAKANO YUN Jung-hee Yuri KLIMENKO Yuri KUSHNEREV Yuri MOSKVIN Yury KOZYREV Yury RAYSKIY Zack SNYDER

Zareh NALBANDIAN Zarina MEHTA Zeina DACCACHE Zeki DEMIRKUBUZ ZENG Jian bZeynep ÖZBATUR ATAKAN ZHANG Dalei ZHANG Huijun ZHANG Jian ZHANG Jun ZHANG Miaoyan ZHANG Xianmin ZHANG Yimou ZHANG Ziyi Zhanna ISSABAYEVA ZHAOFei ZHAO Haicheng ZHAO Qi ZHAO Yanming ZHENG Dongtian ZHENG Liguo ZHOU Hao ZHOU Li ZHOU Meiling ZHOU Xun ZHU Rikun Ziad KALTHOUM Zoë CHEN

54 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

11TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 55

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural program managed by Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Marketing.

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL

Eddy Garcia-Grant

Event Operations Coordinator

Loud Events

FIAPF

Michael C. Ellis

Graham Quirk

Competition Executive

Ed Schimmel

Marianne Edmonds

Luis Alberto Scalella

Digital Lead Developer

Helena Medhurst

Executive Committee

President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific

Lord Mayor of Brisbane Cr Krista Adams

Daniel Anderson

Chairman of the Finance, Economic Development and Administration Committee

Media and Communications Advisor

The Councillors of Brisbane City Council

Competition Coordinator

APSA PATRONS Kim Dong-ho Patron, Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jack Thompson AM PhD President, Asia Pacific Screen Academy ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS ADVISORY BOARD Michael Hawkins Chair Des Power AM Harvey Lister Geoff Rodger OAM John Kirby AM Pauline Chan BRISBANE MARKETING THE APSA TEAM Brett Fraser Chief Executive Officer Rob Nelson Acting Chief Operating Officer Jaclyn McLendon Asia Pacific Screen Awards Lead Sheree Ramage Competition Manager

56 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Laura Bonde Pedersen Stephen Bryett Creative Director Vicki Ciocca Manager, Partnership Services Paul Clarke Film Fund Coordinator Glenn Dunks Marketing Executive Kiki Fung Industry Consultant Amber Gilmore Communications Manager Steve Guise Head of Commercial & Partnerships Tamara Hembury Industry & Academy Engagement Executive John King Digital Project Manager Anne-Maree Moon General Manager, Leisure Tourism & Events Senthil Natarajan Solutions Architect Sonal Patel Event Operations Manager Nikki Reid Event Manager, Produced Events Narelle Robson-Petch

Brock Taffe

TP Aggarwal

Event Coordinator

TPD Media

President

Shannen Tunnicliffe

Peter Threlfall

Benoit Ginisty

Website Content Administrator

Director General

Estelle Van Kampen

VESSEL ARTIST

Graphic Designer

Joanna Bone RCA

Maree White Volunteer and Transport Coordinator

PUBLICITY

Maxine Williamson

Alicia Brescianini

Academy Consultant Special thanks to the extended Brisbane Marketing team for their dedication towards the creation and delivery of the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

ABCG Film Cathy Gallagher Amy Browne Claire Fromm RED CARPET CONSULTANCY Damian Anthony Rossi

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

UNESCO

Welcome to Country

Audrey Azoulay

Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers, Australia

Director-General

Ceremony Hosts

Irina Bokova Director-General

Lee Lin Chin, Australia

(November 2009 - November 2017)

David Wenham, Australia

Angus Mackenzie

Red Carpet MC

Australian Ambassador to UNESCO

Greg Saunders Lee Lin Chin dressed

by Lee Lin Chin David Wenham dressed

by Mitchell Ogilvie CEREMONY PRODUCTION

Armelle ARROU-BERTRAND Head of Section, Public Relations and Partnerships, Division of Public Information Marie Christine Pinault Desmoulins Public Relations and Partnerships, Division of Public Information

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS / EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY Wim Wenders President, European Film Academy Agnieszka Holland Chairwoman Mike Downey Deputy Chairman Antonio Saura Deputy Chairman Marion Döring Managing Director, EFA Productions and Producer, European Film Awards

Stephen P. Jenner

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE (DFAT)

Director of Communications, Asia Pacific

Frances Adamson Secretary

June Tan

Derek Brown

Manager, Communications and Events, Asia Pacific

Queensland State Director Deputy State Director, Queensland

Aruna Vasudev

Juliette Brassington

President

Director, Public Diplomacy Branch

Executive Director and Jury Coordinator Anne Démy-Geroe Vice President Bina Paul Vice President GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

Jürgen Biesinger

Associate Professor Trish FitzSimons

Managing Director and Executive Producer, European Film Awards

Donna Hamilton

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

Acting Head, Griffith Film School Executive Support Officer, Griffith Film School

Christopher J. Dodd

ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN LAB

Chairman and Former Chief Executive Officer

Herman van Eyken

APSA is grateful for the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, interns, Student Ambassadors and Brisbane Greeters as well as those who have assisted with our APSA juries.

Dario Morosini

NETPAC

Ashley Ratnavibhushana

VOLUNTEERS

TECHNICAL STAFF APSA thanks all of the technical staff across Brisbane who have helped us put together our screening programs.

SPECIAL THANKS Brisbane City Council

THE DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY

Lord David Puttnam of Queensgate CBE

APSA thanks the many Embassies, Consulates and representatives from the diplomatic community of Australia, Asia Pacific and beyond who have provided support.

AusFilm Screen Australia Austrade Greg Bowden Director of Strategy, Communications and Economic Development, Office of the Lord Mayor

FILM FESTIVALS, DISTRIBUTORS AND SALES AGENTS

Tracey Vieira

APSA thanks the many film festivals, distributors and sales agents from across the Asia Pacific region and Europe.

Chief Executive Officer, Screen Queensland Igor Gouskov Lamb Agency Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Head of Griffith Film School

INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATION

Chief Executive Officer

SAE CREATIVE MEDIA INSTITUTE

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION

Akshay Kalawar

APSA thanks the many interpreters and translators from Australia and abroad who helped us engage across the Asia Pacific region.

Charles Rivkin

Department Coordinator - Film

10TH ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS | 57

APSA PARTNERS

Powered by:

Foundation Partners:

Major Partners:

Media & Industry Partners:

58 | BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA