MUMBAI: UTV’s films A Wednesday, Dev.D and Mumbai Meri Jaan have earned the merit of being three of the five Indian films to be nominated at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, among other films across 16 nations, in all.

India has received three nominations at the coveted awards this year with Anurag Kashyap being nominated for the Achievement in Direction category for Dev.D, Yogesh Vinayak Joshi and Upendra Sidhaye for the Best Screenplay (Mumbai Meri Jaan) and Naseeruddin Shah for Best Performance By Actor (A Wednesday!).

UTV Motion Pictures chief creative officer Vikas Bahl said, "Great stories break the language barrier and bring cultures together. At UTV to identify such stories and bring them alive is our passion and I am glad its reaping results. We need to constantly push the creative benchmarks and find our footing on the world platform and this is just the beginning."

APSA is a unique collaboration between CNN International, UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations wherein films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins. Winners of the region’s highest accolade in film will be announced by the international jury on 26 November at the third annual APSA Ceremony on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards has announced nominees in nine award categories from across various countries like Australia, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Palestinian Territories, People’s Republic of China (Mainland China/Hong Kong), Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey.