APSA 2011 International Jury President, Nansun Shi, made the announcement from the Busan International Film Festival. Films from the Islamic Republic of Iran, People’s Republic of China, Turkey and India will vie for the Best Feature Film Award.
Best Feature Film nominees in the 2011 APSAs are Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation, Islamic Republic of Iran), Rang zidan fei (Let the Bullets Fly, People’s Republic of China – Mainland China / Hong Kong), Bé Omid É Didar (Goodbye, Islamic Republic of Iran), Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Turkey / Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Planners, India).
240 films were entered into this year’s competition. 37 have received nominations for the 2011 awards, with winners to be announced at the ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, on 24 November.
Winners in the Fifth Annual APSAs will be headed by Hong Kong film producer Nansun Shi. These awards, an initiative of the Queensland Government, Australia, in collaboration with UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations – acclaim films from 70 countries and areas. Films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins.
Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation), by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, and Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia), written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, have each received four APSA nominations. Both films are the Academy Award submission for their respective countries in the category of Best Foreign Language Film for 2012.
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, writer, director and producer of Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation), has been nominated for Best Feature Film, Achievement in directing and Best Screenplay. Actor Peyman Moadi has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor. The film is the first completed project funded by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards’ MPA APSA Academy Film Fund launched in 2010 and received one of four USD$25,000 grants.
Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) has been nominated for Best Feature Film (Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, Mirsad Purivatra, Eda Arıkan, İbrahim Şahin, Müge Kolat, Murat Akdilek, Nuri Bilge Ceylan), Achievement in Directing (Nuri Bilge Ceylan), Achievement in Cinematography (Gökhan Tiryaki) and Best Screenplay (Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan).
Bé Omid É Didar (Goodbye), by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, has received three APSA nominations. Bé Omid É Didar (Goodbye) has been nominated for Best Feature Film (Mohammad Rasoulof), Achievement in Directing (Mohammad Rasoulof) and Best Performance by an Actress (Leyla Zareh).
Rang zidan fei (Let the Bullets Fly), written and directed by Jiang Wen, has received two APSA nominations. The highest grossing domestic film in history at the Chinese box office, Rang zidan fei (Let the Bullets Fly) has been nominated for Best Feature Film (Ma Ke, Albert Lee, Yin Homber, Barbie Tung, Zhao Haicheng) and Achievement in Directing (Jiang Wen).
The fifth nominee for Best Feature Film is Indian film Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Planners), produced by Aditya Chopra. It is the debut film for director Maneesh Sharma.
The fifth nominee for Achievement in Directing is Na Hong-jin for Hwanghae (The Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea).
The nominees for Best Performance by an Actress are Judy Davis (The Eye of the Storm) from Australia, Nahed El Sebai (Cairo 678) from Egypt, Nadezhda Markina (Elena) from the Russian Federation, Shayesteh Irani (Ayenhaye Rooberoo / Facing Mirrors) from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Leyla Zareh (Bé Omid É Didar / Goodbye), also from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The nominees for Best Performance by an Actor are Peyman Moadi (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin / A Separation) from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Wang Baoqiang (Hello! Shu Xian Sheng / Mr Tree) from the People’s Republic of China, Sasson Gabay (Boker Tov Adon Fidelman / Restoration) from Israel, Fa’afiaula Sagote (O le Tulafale / The Orator) from New Zealand / Samoa and Australia’s Daniel Connors for Toomelah.
The Best Screenplay nominees are Yoon Sung-hyun for Pa-soo-kkoon (Bleak Night, Republic of Korea), Denis Osokin for Ovsyanki (Silent Souls, Russian Federation) and Alexey Balabanov for Kochegar (A Stoker, Russian Federation), as well as Asghar Farhadi for Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation) and Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan and Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia).
The nominations for Achievement in Cinematography are:
Vladimir Bashta for Brestskaia krepost (Brest Fortress, Russian Federation / Belarus),
Yuri Klimenko for Krai (The Edge, Russian Federation),
Mark Lee Ping Bin for Noruwei no mori (Norwegian Wood, Japan),
Sonthar Gyal for Khyi rgan (Old Dog, People’s Republic of China – Tibet), and
Gökhan Tiryaki for Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Turkey / Bosnia and Herzegovina).
In 2011, APSA Academy members have had the right to view and vote in selected categories for the first time. Past Jury, Nominations Council, Documentary and Animation Academy members will determine the Nominees and Winners for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film in the 2011 competition. Children’s Feature Film Academy members, along with past Jury and Council, have decided on the Nominees for Best Children’s Feature Film with the Winner in that category to be determined by the International Jury.
Nominees for the Best Children’s Feature Film Award are:
Wo 11 (11 Flowers, People’s Republic of China / France) – Isabelle Glachant, Wang Xiaoshuai, Didar Domerhi, Lu Dong, Laurent Baudens, Gael Nouaille
Buta (Azerbaijan) – Khamis Muradov, Ilgar Najaf
Mabul (The Flood, Israel / France / Germany / Canada) – Chilik Michael, Ina Fichman, Avraham Pirchi, Tami Leon, David Silber, Moshe Edery, Leon Edery
Di si zhang hua (The Fourth Portrait, Taiwan) – Tseng Shao-chien
Red Dog (Australia) – Nelson Woss, Julie Ryan
Bad o Meh (Wind and Fog, Islamic Republic of Iran) – Naser Dehghani Poudeh.
Nominees for Best Documentary Feature Film are:
Amin (Islamic Republic of Iran / Republic of Korea / Canada / Ukraine) – Shahin Parhami
Bakhmaro (Georgia / Germany) – Anna Dziapshipa, Heino Deckert
Jag Var Värd 50 Lamm (I Was Worth 50 Sheep, Sweden / Japan / USA) – Maryam Ebrahimi
Marathon Boy (India / UK) – Gemma Atwal, Matt Norman
Pink Saris (India / UK) – Amber Latiff, Girjashanker Vohra.
Nominees for Best Animated Feature Film are:
Hoshi o Ou Kodomo (Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below, Japan) – Noritaka Kawaguchi
Madangeul naon amtak (Leafie, Republic of Korea) – Lee Eun, Shim Jaemyung, Kim Sunku
RPG Metanoia (Phillippines) – Charles Rapaport, Malou Santos, Lelette Bontia, Ann Gatmaytan, Ned Villarama
Tatsumi (Singapore) – Tan Fong Cheng, Phil Mitchell, Freddie Yeo, Eric Khoo, Gary Goh, Greg Chew, Brian Gothong Tan, Wong Kim Hoh
Gadkiy Utyonok (The Ugly Duckling, Russian Federation) – Garri Bardin.
The International Jury can, at its discretion, present a further prize: The Screen International Jury Grand Prize, for which nominated feature films are eligible.
Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominees are automatically inducted into the Asia Pacific Screen Academy making them eligible to apply for the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, a USD$100,000 script development fund supported by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and available to Academy members. Asia Pacific Screen Academy members are eligible to apply for the APSA Children’s Film Fund, a fund specifically for films for and about children of the Asia-Pacific. The fund is a partnership between APSA and Manila based 4 Boys Films, established by APSA Academy member Butch Jimenez. Two AUD$20,000 grants will be given to support new children’s feature films at creative inception that carry positive, life affirming messages specifically for and about children in the Asia-Pacific. A member of APSA’s Academy must be attached to the project.
Led by Patron Jack Thompson, the Academy is a growing body of the region’s most influential names in film including past APSA Winners, Nominees, International Jury and Nominations Council members. The submission period for both film funds closes on 21 October and the fund recipients will be announced at the APSA Ceremony on 24 November.
Two awards for outstanding achievement will be presented at the ceremony.
FIAPF Award: outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region.
UNESCO Award: outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film.
