A few days back, on November 29 the 2018 APSA awards ceremony took place in Brisbane, Australia and for the first time top award went to a Japanese film as Shoplifters won Best Feature Film. The Jury Prize went to Burning; so, APSA is honoring the two films that are penetrating the 2018 American Awards season with nominations and wins in the best foreign language film category as well as in other tech categories.Remarkable is the spread of awards as represent the geographical and cultural diversity of the Asia Pacific region, awards ent to films from Australia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, China, Korea, Russia, Singapore and Turkey.
The Cultural Diversity Award under the Patronage of UNESCO was awarded to Garin Nugroho and Ifa Isfansyah for Memories of My Body (Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku) (Indonesia) and accepted on the night by lead actor Muhummad Khan. The winner was determined by the APSA Cultural Diversity International Jury comprised of Jury Chair Khadija Al-Salami (Yemen), Anthony Krause (UNESCO) and Mattie Do (Lao People’s Democratic Republic).
As the winner in this category, Garin Nugroho will present a screening of his winning film on December 15 in Paris at UNESCO’s Paris Headquarters as part of the Intergovernmental Committee meeting on the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
A new script development film fund was also announced tonight, the APSA Academy Sun Yat-Sen Bo Ai Film Fund. Exclusive to APSA Academy members, the fund supports a film project which demonstrates cinematic excellence and aligns with the Foundations Ideals: the embodiment of the ‘Bo Ai’ (Universal Compassion) spirit, promotion of tolerance, inspiring positive change and fostering the human spirit. The inaugural recipient was announced as director Feras Fayyad (Syria) for feature documentary The Cave. Fayyad was the winner of the APSA for Best Documentary Feature Film in 2017 for Last Men in Aleppo, which was also nominated for an Oscar.
The four 2018 MPA APSA Film Fund recipients are:
Producer Ifa Isfansyah, director Kamila Andini (Indonesia) for Yuni
Producer Olga Khlasheva, director Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazakhstan) for Hell is Empty and All The Devils Are Here
Producer Mai Meksawan, director Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand) for Worship
Director, producer, screenwriter Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey) for Asli
The 2018 winners
Best Feature Film: Manbiki Kazobu (Shoplifters), Kore-eda Hirokazu, Japan
Jury Grand Prize: Beoning (Burning), Chang-dong Lee, South Korea
Achievement in Directing: Nadine Labaki for Capharnaüm, Lebanon
Special Mention: Ivan Ayr for Soni, India
Best Performance by an Actress: Zha Tao in Jiang hu er nv (Ash is Purest White), Zhangke Jia, China and France
Best Performance by an Actor: Mawazuddin Siddiqui in Manto, Nandita Das, India
Best Screenplay: Dan Kleinman and Sameh Zoabi for Tel Aviv on Fire, Sameh Zoabi, Israel, Belgium, France and Luxembourg
Achievement in Cinematography: Hideho Urata for A Land Imagined, Siew Hua Yeo, Singapore, France and Netherlands
Best Original Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir and Jóhann Jóhannsson for Mary Magdalene, Garth Davis, Australia and UK
Best Youth Feature Film: Güvercin (The Pigeon), Banu Sivaci, Turkey
Best Animated Feature Film: Znaesh’ mama, gde ya byl (Rezo), Levan Gabriadze, Russia
Best Documentary Feature Film: Gurrumul, Paul Damien Williams, Australia
Young Cinema Award: Yeo Siew Hua for A Land Imagined, Singapore, France and Netherlands
FIAPF Award for Achievement in Film in the Asia Pacific Region: Nandita Das, India
To check winners at official site go here.
Awards Ceremony Highlights
