The Asia Pacific Screen Academy today announced the second Asia Pacific Screen Forum (Nov 20-26) and 2020 Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) Presentation (Nov 26), to be delivered to the global screen community.
Greer Simpkin (Australia), Zeynep Atakan (Turkey), Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh), Ili Baré (Australia)
Incoming Chair of APSA, Tracey Vieira said “As the unprecedented events of 2020 continue to unfold, APSA is committed to igniting, honouring and showcasing our region’s screen creatives.”
“APSA and its initiatives have long demonstrated great leadership uniting and connecting the filmmaking communities of Asia Pacific and beyond, creating opportunities, providing vital funds at script development stage in partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and celebrating cultural diversity and cinematic excellence through the Awards and Forum.”
“These are all critical to the industry and at the heart of APSA’s DNA,” Ms Vieira said.
“The energy in the room as Parasite won the Best Film APSA in 2019 and producer Jang Young-hwan took the stage was extraordinary, and while we can’t re-create that gala event in 2020, we have risen to the challenge of what we CAN do!”
“As APSA itself feels the effects of the economic impact of the global pandemic and adapts to a changed world, I am honoured to take up the position of steering APSA’s future, and continuing to build on the solid foundations provided by outgoing Chair Michael Hawkins, and founding Chairman Des Power,” Ms Vieira said.
Ms Vieira brings exceptional experience in marketing, communications and major events. She is former Telstra Business Woman of the Year, former CEO of Screen Queensland and current Chief Content Officer of Emmy® and BAFTA winning film and television production company Hoodlum.
The 2020 Asia Pacific Screen Awards Presentation will see the announcement of two major awards, the FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film and the APSA Young Cinema Award acknowledging the cinematic excellence of an emerging filmmaker.
The four recipients of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, a US $25,000 script development grant, will also be announced. Previous recipients have won APSAs, Oscars®, Golden Globes®, International Emmy® Awards and premiered at the world’s top film festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
The 2nd Asia Pacific Screen Forum, November 20-26, will present a program of signature events, screenings and industry round-table discussions with creatives from the APSA Academy.
Committed to nurturing the cinematic talent of the vast Asia Pacific region, and bringing together the screen industry, the forum will feature a program of accessible events delivered online.
The first forum event to be announced is Women in Film – Leadership, a discussion featuring Vice President of the European Women’s Audiovisual Network, Palme d’Or winner Zeynep Atakan (Turkey) WIFT International Board member and feminist filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh), and the Australian creative team behind 2020 APSA Competition documentary The Leadership, director/writer Ili Baré and producer Greer Simpkin, winner of APSA Best Feature Film for Sweet Country, and 2019 APSA Jury member.
Sweet Country producer Greer Simpkin said, “The essence of APSA for me has always been about coming together, sharing stories and connecting with our colleagues and peers from around the region.”
“In such a year of isolation for so many, I congratulate APSA on bringing the screen community together for the 2nd Asia Pacific Screen Forum, and look forward to joining this discussion!” Ms Simpkin said.
The full program for the 2nd Asia Pacific Screen Forum will be announced in early October.
Screen Queensland continues to be a major partner of the Awards and Forum through their Screen Culture Funding program.
CEO of Screen Queensland Kylie Munnich said, “We are proud to maintain our support for a Forum that not only connects screen creatives throughout Asia Pacific, but also celebrates the enormous talent and diversity of content being created in the region.
“After what has been a year like no other for the screen industry, there is a great appetite for practitioners to come together to share stories, build contacts, and talk about their latest projects. Our industry feeds on the creative spark that flows from chance encounters with industry peers and APSA is an ideal forum for this to happen.
“Hosting APSA in our state, positions Queensland as a prominent filmmaking hub in the Asia Pacific region, and Screen Queensland commends the whole APSA team for forging ahead to deliver what promises to be an exciting program for screen practitioners, right when they need it most.
“We look forward to this much-anticipated annual celebration of excellence in film.”
The Awards presentation will be broadcast from a live event at HOTA (Home of the Arts, Gold Coast) on Thursday 26 November.
The International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film will be presented to a personality whose achievements across borders and boundaries have helped guide the industry into the future, in a year requiring extreme innovation and creativity. FIAPF is the only organisation of film and television producers with a global reach and is a founding partner of APSA.
President of FIAPF Luis Alberto Scalella said “The FIAPF Award has been presented every year since APSA’s inaugural event in 2007. As the global pandemic affects the way we work, create and live, it has also revealed some of the leading voices in sustaining and growing our industry.”
“We congratulate APSA for adapting to the current challenges and we are thrilled to be able present the FIAPF Award in 2020,” he said.
The APSA Young Cinema Award in partnership with The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema
(NETPAC) and Griffith Film School (GFS) will be determined by a Jury comprised by head of the Generation section at the Berlinale Maryanne Redpath, Vice-President of NETPAC and academic Anne Démy-Geroe with the Jury headed by Hong-Joon Kim, who has chaired the APSA International Nominations Council since APSA’s inception.
Director of Griffith Film School and NETPAC Board member Professor Herman Van Eyken said “A key focus for both NETPAC and Griffith Film School is the support and promotion of emerging, early-career and young filmmakers from Asia Pacific, and we recognise the impact of the global pandemic on the career trajectories and opportunities available to this section of the screen community.”
Vice-President of NETPAC, and head of Asia Pacific film at Griffith Film School Dr Anne Démy-Geroe agreed, saying “This is why NETPAC and GFS are extremely pleased to still be able to present the Young Cinema Award at APSA in 2020.”