Film in the hands of a great filmmaker has the power to change lives; the power to bridge cultural divides; the courage to explore and tell our stories; to inform and entertain; to deliver better understanding into hearts and minds. Thousands of films from Asia Pacific countries and areas have competed in the APSAs. Films that clearly demonstrate a rich slate of diversity – each telling its own story, in its own way, from its country of origin. That is what the Asia Pacific Screen Awards respect and acclaim.
With nominated filmmakers and screen industry VIPs in attendance, the winners of the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards were announced at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Friday 3 November 2023 at HOTA Gold Coast, Australia.
16th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS – NOMINEES & WINNERS
BEST FILM
Citizen Saint (Mokalake Tsmindani)
Georgia, France, Bulgaria
Directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili
Produced by Lasha Khalvashi, Tinatin Kajrishvili
Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Produced by Satoshi Takata
Perfect Days – WINNER
Japan
Directed by Wim Wenders
Produced by Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki, Koji Yanai
Qas
Kazakhstan
Directed by Aisultan Seit
Produced by Yerkebulan Kurishbayev, Yuliya Kim, Eugenia Moreva
Snow Leopard (Xue bao)
People’s Republic of China
Directed by Pema Tseden
Produced by Wang Lei
JURY GRAND PRIZE
Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Produced by Satoshi Takata
BEST YOUTH FILM
Bauryna Salu – WINNER
Kazakhstan
Directed by Askhat Kuchinchirekov
Produced by Askhat Kuchinchirekov, Anna Katchko
Blueback
Australia
Directed by Robert Connolly
Produced by James Grandison, Robert Connolly, Liz Kearney
A House in Jerusalem
Palestine, United Kingdom, Qatar, Netherlands, Germany
Directed by Muayad Alayan
Produced by Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan, Abeer Salman, Rachel Robey, Alastair Clark, Dorothe Beinemeier, Hanneke Neins, Giorgos Karnavas
Monster (Kaibutsu)
Japan
Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu
Produced by Genki Kawamura, Kenji Yamada
Tiger Stripes
Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar
Directed by Amanda Nell Eu
Produced by Foo Fei Ling, Patrick Mao Huang, Fran Borgia, Juliette Lepoutre, Pierre Menahem, Jonas Weydemann, Ellen Havenith, Yulia Evina Bhara
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Deep Sea (Shen hai)
People’s Republic of China
Directed by Tian Xiaopeng
Produced by Qiao Yi
The First Slam Dunk
Japan
Directed by Takehiko Inoue
Produced by Toshiyuki Matsui
Scarygirl
Australia
Directed by Ricard Cussó
Co-Directed by Tania Vincent
Produced by Sophie Byrne, Kristen Souvlis, Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves
The Siren (La Sirène) – WINNER
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium
Directed by Sepideh Farsi
Produced by Sébastien Onomo
Suzume (Suzume no Tojimari)
Japan
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Produced by Noritaka Kawaguchi, Genki Kawamura, Yoshihiro Furusawa, Tomohiro Tokunaga
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Against the Tide – WINNER
India, France
Directed by Sarvnik Kaur
Produced by Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur
Beyond Utopia
United States
Directed by Madeleine Gavin
Produced by Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Sue Mi Terry
Man in Black
France, United States, United Kingdom
Directed by Wang Bing
Produced by K Lihong, Sonia Buchman, Nicholas R de la Mothe
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
United States, Republic of Korea
Directed by Amanda Kim
Produced by Jennifer Stockman, David Koh, Amanda Kim, Amy Hobby, Jesse Wann, Mariko Munro
To Kill a Tiger
Canada
Directed by Nisha Pahuja
Produced by Cornelia Principe, Nisha Pahuja, David Oppenheim
BEST DIRECTOR
Celine Song for Past Lives – WINNER
Republic of Korea, United States
Darkhan Tulegenov for Brothers (Bratya)
Kazakhstan
Liang Ming for Carefree Days (Xiao yao you)
People’s Republic of China
Rima Das for Tora’s Husband
India
Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
BEST SCREENPLAY
Anthony Shim for Riceboy Sleeps – WINNER
Canada, Republic of Korea
Liang Ming for Carefree Days (Xiao yao you)
People’s Republic of China
Nicole Midori Woodford for Last Shadow at First Light
Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, Philippines, Indonesia
Pema Tseden for Snow Leopard (Xue bao)
People’s Republic of China
Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Azamat Dulatov for Qas – WINNER
Kazakhstan
Hao Jiayue for A Song Sung Blue
People’s Republic of China
Kenneth Cyrus for Whispers of Fire & Water
India
Krum Rodriguez for Citizen Saint (Mokalake Tsmindani) – SPECIAL MENTION
Georgia, France, Bulgaria
Yoshio Kitagawa for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
BEST PERFORMANCE
Koji Yakusho for Perfect Days
Japan
Jinpa for Snow Leopard (Xue bao)
People’s Republic of China
Mihaya Shirata for Last Shadow at First Light
Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, Philippines, Indonesia
Mouna Hawa for Inshallah a Boy (Inshallah Walad) – WINNER
Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Zhou Dongyu for The Breaking Ice (Ran dong)
People’s Republic of China
SPECIAL AWARDS & RECIPIENTS
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AWARD
Rapture (Rimdogittanga)
India, People’s Republic of China, Qatar, Switzerland, Netherlands
Directed by Dominic Megam Sangma
Produced by Xu Jianshang, Eva Gunme R Marak, Anu Rangachar, Sun Li, Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover, Stephen Zacharias
YOUNG CINEMA AWARD IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NETPAC AND GFS
Phạm Thiên Ân for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng)
Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain
FIAPF AWARD
Jeremy Chua
Singapore
Determined by FIAPF–International Federation of Film Producers Associations for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region.
BEST NEW PERFORMANCE
For first or second time lead performance in a feature length role.
Aibar Saly and Alisher Ismailov
Brothers (Bratya)
Kazakhstan
MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND
The recipients of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund development grants of US$25,000 were announced as Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji (Iraq), Rima Das (India), Tamar Shavgulidze (Georgia), and Anthony Chen (Singapore).
A joint initiative of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and the Motion Picture Association since 2010, the Fund supports both organisations’ goal to increase cultural diversity on screen in the world’s fastest growing region of film production. The Fund is open exclusively to Asia Pacific Screen Academy members.
2023 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Jury
Andrew Pike (Australia) – Chair
Leena Khobragade (India)
Marissa Anita (Indonesia)
ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN LAB
The successful filmmakers selected for the 2023/24 year-long immersive development programme, the Asia Pacific Screen Lab, are: Shadi Jamil Habib Allah (Israel) for his project Morning Thread, Haziqah Binti Azemi (Malaysia) for her project Garek and Bavaneedha Loganathan (Sri Lanka) for her project 46 Mondays.
An initiative of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy in association with Griffith University, Griffith Film School, NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema) and the Sun Foundation.
2023 APSA INTERNATIONAL JURY
Determining the winners of Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Performance, Jury Grand Prize
Clara Law (Australia) – Jury President
Anna Katchko (Germany)
Yeo Yann Yann, (Malaysia)
Hideho Urata (Japan, Singapore)
Faisal Baltyuor (Saudi Arabia)
2023 APSA YOUTH, ANIMATION, DOCUMENTARY INTERNATIONAL JURY
Determining the winners of Best Youth Film, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary Film
Midi Z (Taiwan) – Jury Chair
Rima Das (India)
Hikaru Toda (Japan)
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.