MUMBAI: The Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Cannes announced the introduction of Academy member voting rights for selected categories of the fifth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA).
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 will, along with past Jury and Council, decide on the Nominees for Best Children’s Feature Film with the winner in that category to be determined by the International Jury ahead of the fifth annual APSA Ceremony on 24 November.
APSA chairman Des Power said, "Since forming the Academy in 2008, we have always said that, in time, our members would have voting rights. This is a key milestone, which reflects the growing stature of our Academy and I am delighted to see Academy voting rights become a reality in the fifth year of our competition."
In making the announcement at APSA’s International Launch, APSA artistic director Maxine Williamson said, "Animation, Documentary and Children’s feature films are highly specialised fields and it is appropriate that Academy members from these fields, along with outstanding practitioners in the region, participate in assessing the work of their peers in these genres. We will utilise cutting edge technology to introduce these changes and are very excited to be working with highly respected international companies Cisco and The Media Architects to enable the introduction of our new judging and voting processes in 2011."
The Nominations Council will view eligible films through the online streaming service and their deliberations will take place using Cisco TelePresence in high quality, life-like video conferencing technology. Council members across five countries will be brought together by Cisco to deliberate on films and determine the nominees without leaving their home city.
The Nominations Council will be Chaired once again by filmmaker and academic Professor Hong-Joon Kim (Republic of Korea) and the 2011 Council members will be Russell Edwards (Australia), Yuka Sakano (Japan), Jeannette Paulson Hereniko (Hawaii, USA), Peggy Chiao (Taiwan), Philip Cheah (Singapore). APSA Chairman Des Power and Artistic Director Maxine Williamson will also participate in the process.
