The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the region’s highest accolade in film, celebrating and honouring the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the region, have unveiled the full list of nominations for the 12th edition. In 2018, films from Japan and People’s Republic of China lead the tally with 7 nominations each, while films from Australia, India and Kazakhstan each received 5 nominations and Uzbekistan has received a nomination for the first time. Nominations go to a total of 46 films from 22 countries from the vast region, comprised of 70 countries and areas and responsible for half of the world’s film output.

Japan’s Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) is the only film to receive three nominations and will compete for the highly coveted Best Feature Film Award with four other twice-nominated features, Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (Republic of Korea), The Gentle Indifference of the World (Laskovoe Bezrazlichie Mira; Kazakhstan, France), Balangiga: Howling Wilderness (Philippines), and Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu; Thailand, People’s Republic of China, France), the directorial debut of Phuttiphong Aroonpheng.

Shoplifters, nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Achievement in Directing, is the fourth film from Japanese auteur APSA Academy member Kore-eda Hirokazu to be nominated at the awards, where his previous films have received a total of 5 nominations. Already the 2018 Cannes Palme d’Or winner, the highly lauded Shoplifters stars the 2015 APSA Best Performance by an Actress winner Kirin Kiki who sadly passed away last month.

Nominated alongside Kore-eda for Achievement in Directing are Ivan Ayr for Soni (India) and three APSA Academy members: Nadine Labaki for Capharnaüm (Lebanon), Australia’s Bruce Beresford for Ladies in Black, and Emir Baigazin for The River (Ozen; Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland).

Republic of Korea’s Lee Chang-dong, nominated for Best Feature Film alongside his producer brother Lee Joon-dong, has also received a Best Screenplay nomination for Burning together with Oh Jung-mi. Chang-dong, a four-time APSA winner and an APSA Academy member since 2007, was a recipient of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund for Burning, which premiered to international acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Also nominated for Best Screenplay alongside Shoplifters and Burning are APSA Academy Member and 2017 APSA International Jury member Adilkhan Yerzhanov together with Roelof Jan Minneboo for The Gentle Indifference of the World (Laskovoe Bezrazlichie Mira; Kazakhstan, France), Dan Kleinman and Sameh Zoabi for Tel Aviv on Fire (Israel, Belgium, France, Luxembourg) and Payman Maadi for Bomb, A Love Story (Bomb, Yek Asheghaneh; Islamic Republic of Iran). Maadi was a recipient of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund for this film, which is also nominated for Best Original Score.

Actors from five different countries will compete for the Best Performance by an Actor award: Karim Mirkhadiyev, the first ever nominee from Uzbekistan, nominated for his role in Fortitude (Sabot, Uzbekistan) is up against superstar Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Manto (India), child actor and former Syrian refugee Zain Al Rafeea for Capharnaüm (Lebanon), Bahman Farmanara for Tale of the Sea (Hekayat-e Darya; Islamic Republic of Iran) and Akylbek Abdykalykov for Night Accident (Tunku Kyrsyk; Kyrgyzstan).

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress are Chinese actress Zhao Tao for Ash is Purest White (Jiang hu er nv; People’s Republic of China, France), Rooney Mara for Mary Magdalene (Australia, United Kingdom), Turkey’s Damla Sönmez for Sibel (Turkey, France, Germany, Luxembourg) and two actresses from Kazakhstan, Cannes Best Actress winner Samal Yeslyamova for Ayka (Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Germany, Poland), and deaf actress Laura Koroleva for Sveta (Kazakhstan).

The five nominees for Achievement in Cinematography are Saumyananda Sahi for Balekempa (India), APSA Academy member Zhang Miaoyan and Xu Zhiyong for Silent Mist (People’s Republic of China, France), Hideho Urata for A Land Imagined (Singapore, France, Netherlands) and two Thai cinematographers Chaiyapruek Chalermpornpanit for Malila: The Farewell Flower (Thailand) and Nawarophaat Rungphiboonsophit for Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu; Thailand, People’s Republic of China, France).

The Cultural Diversity Award under the patronage of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) is an award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film. Nominated for this unique award that represents the shared goals of the two organisations are Ala Changso (People’s Republic of China), Balangiga: Howling Wilderness (Philippines), The Lord Eagle (Toyon Kyyl; Russian Federation), Memories of My Body (Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku; Indonesia) and The Taste of Rice Flower (Mi Hua Zhi Wei; People’s Republic of China).

Nominated for Best Youth Feature Film is Ava (Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar, Canada), Nervous Translation (Philippines), Passage of Life (Boku no kaeru basho; Japan, Myanmar), The Pigeon (Güvercin; Turkey) and Village Rockstars (India).

In the running for Best Animated Feature Film are two films from Russian Federation, Hoffmaniada and Rezo (Znaesh’, mama, gde ya byl), two Japanese films Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Sayonara no asa ni yakusoku no hana o kazarô) and Mirai (Mirai no Mirai) and On Happiness Road (Hsing Fu Lu Shang) from Taiwan.

The nominees for Best Documentary Feature Film hail from all corners of the region: Amal (Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark), Gurrumul (Australia), Of Fathers and Sons (Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon, Qatar, Germany), Of Love & Law (Japan, United Kingdom, France) and Up Down & Sideways (kho ki pa lü; India).

This year marks the first time that the categories of Best Feature Film, Best Youth Feature Film, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film will honour the directors as nominees alongside the producers.

The winners of both the APSA FIAPF Award for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region and the APSA Young Cinema Award, presented in partnership with NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema) and Griffith Film School to recognise the abundant emerging talent of the Asia Pacific, will be announced ahead of the 2018 APSA ceremony, and will be presented to the winners at the event.

The APSA International Jury  will also award a feature film with a Jury Grand Prize.

The 12th APSA ceremony and red carpet event will take place on Thursday 29 November in Brisbane, Australia, with nominees and special guests attending from across the region and world.

The International Juries who will determine the 2018 APSA winners will be announced in the coming weeks.

QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO:

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk:

“Brisbane is a proud home to the awards and we look forward to welcoming this year’s exciting nominees. APSA is an incredibly special event for the Asia Pacific. It is our city’s great privilege to honour our region’s wonderfully-diverse stories and celebrate the filmmakers who are responsible for building the world’s fastest growing film region.”

 

Chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and its Academy Michael Hawkins:

“In its twelfth year, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards continues to grow both in size, with the addition of a new Best Original Score award, and in reach, with the first ever nomination from Uzbekistan. The film industry in our culturally diverse region is thriving, and APSA with it, with the award nominations honouring established and developing filmmaking talent from across the Asia Pacific.”

 

ABOUT THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS & ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY

The region’s highest accolade in film, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, based in Brisbane, Australia, are supported by Brisbane City Council and managed by economic development board Brisbane Marketing. APSA recognises and promotes the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest growing film region: comprising 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people, and responsible for half of the world’s film output.

APSA and its Academy is committed to its ongoing global partnerships with UNESCO, FIAPF, the European Film Academy (EFA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano, NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema), the Asia Pacific Screen Lab (APSL) and Griffith Film School.

All APSA nominees, International Nominations Council, Selection Panels and International Jury members are inducted into the prestigious APSA Academy presided over by Australian screen legend Jack Thompson AM PhD. The Academy boasts over 1,200 of the region’s leading filmmakers and provides exclusive networking, development and funding opportunities available to Academy members through the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, and Academy mentoring opportunities for the next generation of Asia Pacific filmmakers through the Asia Pacific Screen Lab.

https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/about-academy

 

Media contact: ABCG Film for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Alicia Brescianini 0400 225 603 / [email protected]

Cathy Gallagher 0416 227 282 / [email protected]

 

COMPLETE LIST OF 12th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE FILM

Balangiga: Howling Wilderness
Philippines
Directed by Khavn
Produced by Achinette VILLAMOR, Khavn DE LA CRUZ, Edong CANLAS

Burning
Republic of Korea
Directed by LEE Chang-dong
Produced by LEE Joon-dong, LEE Chang-dong

The Gentle Indifference of the World (Laskovoe Bezrazlichie Mira)
Kazakhstan, France
Directed by Adilkhan YERZHANOV
Produced by Serik ABISHEV, Olga KHLASHEVA

Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu)
Thailand, People’s Republic of China, France
Directed by Phuttiphong AROONPHENG
Produced by Mai MEKSAWAN, Philippe AVRIL, Jakrawal NILTHAMRONG, Chatchai CHAIYON

Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku)
Japan
Directed by KORE-EDA Hirokazu
Produced by MATSUZAKI Kaoru, YOSE Akihiko, TAGUCHI Hijiri

 

BEST YOUTH FEATURE FILM

Ava
Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar, Canada
Directed by by Sadaf FOROUGHI
Produced by Kiarash ANVARI, Sadaf FOROUGHI

Nervous Translation
Philippines
Directed by Shireen SENO
Produced by John TORRES

Passage of Life (Boku no kaeru basho)
Japan, Myanmar
Directed by Akio FUJIMOTO
Produced by Kazutaka WATANABE, Fumito YOSHIDA

The Pigeon (Güvercin)
Turkey
Directed by Banu SIVACI
Produced by Banu SIVACI, Mesut ULUTAŞ

Village Rockstars
India
Directed by Rima DAS
Produced by Rima DAS

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Hoffmaniada
Russian Federation
Directed by Stanislav SOKOLOV
Produced by Yuliana SLASHCHEVA, Boris MASHKOVTSEV, Nikolai MAKOVSKY, Sergei STRUSOVSKY

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Sayonara no asa ni yakusoku no hana o kazarô)
Japan
Directed by Mari OKADA
Produced by Naoko ENDO, Tomomi KYOTANI, Nobuhiro TAKENAKA, Nobuhiro KIKUCHI 

Mirai (Mirai no Mirai)
Japan
Directed by Mamoru HOSODA
Produced by Yuichiro SAITO, Takuya ITO, Yuichi Adachi, Genki KAWAMURA

On Happiness Road (Hsing Fu Lu Shang)
Taiwan
Directed by SUNG Hsin-Yin
Produced by Sylvia FENG

Rezo (Znaesh’, mama, gde ya byl)
Russian Federation
Directed by Leo GABRIADZE
Produced by Timur BEKMAMBETOV

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

Amal
Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark
Directed by Mohamed SIAM
Produced by Myriam SASSINE, Mohamed SIAM

Gurrumul
Australia
Directed by Paul Damien WILLIAMS
Produced by Shannon SWAN

Of Fathers and Sons
Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon, Qatar, Germany
Directed by Talal DERKI
Produced by Ansgar FRERICH, Eva KEMME, Tobias N. SIEBERT, Hans Robert EISENHAUER

Of Love & Law
Japan, United Kingdom, France
Directed by Hikaru TODA
Produced by Elhum SHAKERIFAR, Hikaru TODA

Up Down & Sideways (kho ki pa lü)
India
Directed by Anushka MEENAKSHI, Iswar SRIKUMAR
Produced by Manas MALHOTRA

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Nadine LABAKI for Capharnaüm
Lebanon

Bruce BERESFORD for Ladies in Black
Australia

Emir BAIGAZIN for The River (Ozen)
Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland

KORE-EDA Hirokazu for Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku)
Japan

Ivan AYR for Soni
India

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

Payman MAADI for Bomb, A Love Story (Bomb, Yek Asheghaneh)
Islamic Republic of Iran

OH Jung-mi, LEE Chang-dong for Burning
Republic of Korea

Adilkhan YERZHANOV, Roelof Jan MINNEBOO for The Gentle Indifference of the World (Laskovoe Bezrazlichie Mira)
Kazakhstan, France

KORE-EDA Hirokazu for Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku)
Japan

Dan KLEINMAN, Sameh ZOABI for Tel Aviv on Fire
Israel, Belgium, France, Luxembourg

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Saumyananda SAHI for Balekempa
India

Hideho URATA for A Land Imagined
Singapore, France, Netherlands

Nawarophaat RUNGPHIBOONSOPHIT for Manta Ray (Kraben Rahu)
Thailand, People’s Republic of China, France

Chaiyapruek CHALERMPORNPANIT for Malila: The Farewell Flower
Thailand

ZHANG Miaoyan, XU Zhiyong for Silent Mist
People’s Republic of China, France

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS

ZHAO Tao for Ash is Purest White (Jiang hu er nv)
People’s Republic of China, France

Samal YESLYAMOVA for Ayka
Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Germany, Poland

Rooney MARA for Mary Magdalene
Australia, United Kingdom

Damla SÖNMEZ for Sibel
Turkey, France, Germany, Luxembourg

Laura KOROLEVA for Sveta
Kazakhstan

 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR

Zain AL RAFEEA for Capharnaüm
Lebanon

Karim MIRKHADIYEV for Fortitude (Sabot)
Uzbekistan

Nawazuddin SIDDIQUI for Manto
India

Akylbek ABDYKALYKOV for Night Accident (Tunku Kyrsyk)
Kyrgyzstan

Bahman FARMANARA for Tale of the Sea (Hekayat-e Darya)
Islamic Republic of Iran

 

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AWARD UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF UNESCO

Ala Changso
People’s Republic of China
Directed by Sonthar GYAL
Produced by Yungdrung GYAL

Balangiga: Howling Wilderness
Philippines
Directed by Khavn
Produced by Achinette VILLAMOR, Khavn DE LA CRUZ, Edong CANLAS

The Lord Eagle (Toyon Kyyl)
Russian Federation
Directed by Eduard NOVIKOV
Produced by Dmitrii SHADRIN

Memories of My Body (Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku)
Indonesia
Directed by Garin NUGROHO
Produced by Ifa ISFANSYAH

The Taste of Rice Flower (Mi Hua Zhi Wei)
People’s Republic of China
Directed by Pengfei
Produced by Pengfei, LIU Jing, Rebecca HO

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Eléni KARAÏNDROU for Bomb, A Love Story (Bomb, Yek Asheghaneh)
Islamic Republic of Iran

Harry GREGSON-WILLIAMS for Breath
Australia

Hildur GUÐNADÓTTIR, Jóhann JÓHANNSSON for Mary Magdalene
Australia, United Kingdom

Ryan CAYABYAB for The Portrait (Ang Larawan)
Philippines

Omar FADEL for Yomeddine
Egypt

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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 present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.

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