Yahoo Lifestyle ‘April’ Wins Best Film At Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Georgian film April, directed by Dea Kulumbegashvili, has won both the Best Film and Best Performance prizes at the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), held in Australia.
The film tells the story of Nina, an obstetrician-gynecologist, who faces accusations after a newborn’s death. Ia Sukhitashvili won the Best Performance award for her portrayal of Nina.
More from Deadline
The Best Director accolade went to Tato Kotetishvili for debut feature Holy Electricity, which is a Georgia-Netherlands co-production. The dark comedy follows two cousins selling neon crucifixes door to door in Tbilisi.
The Jury Grand Prize went to All We Imagine as Light, which is the second feature from India’s Payal Kapadia. The film follows two working-class nurses amid the nocturnal landscape of Mumbai.
Best Youth Film went to India’s Lakshmipriya Devi for Boong, alongside producers Alan McAlex, Vikesh Bhutani, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Shujaat Saudagar.
Best Animated Film went to Filipino director Carl Joseph Papa’s The Missing.
Palestinian-Norwegian co-production No Other Land won Best Documentary Film. It was directed by a group by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers made up of Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham, capturing the violence and destruction surrounding them. The film is currently in theatrical release in Australia and the UK.
Legal thriller Hesitation Wound won writer-director Selman Nacar the Best Screenplay award.
The Best Cinematography prize went to French cinematographer Michael Capron for Mongrel, a Taiwan-Singapore-France drama that puts the life of an undocumented Thai carer in the spotlight.
New Zealand’s Cliff Curtis received the FIAPF Award, given by the APSA’s founding partner, International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). Curtis received the prize for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Cliff Curtis’ impressive career has been built on a strong commitment to screen storytelling that truly speaks to all audiences, both within the New Zealand screen industry, and internationally,” said FIAPF President Luis Alberto Scalella. “His support for emerging Indigenous filmmakers from New Zealand has enabled the production of many compelling films, and he is a producer known for bold and demanding choices in the stories he chooses to tell.”
Curtis said: “A good meal feeds the body for that day a great story sustains the hearts and minds of generations past, present and future. My heart is filled with gratitude for the privilege of working alongside the artists, collaborators and mentors whose works have made this award possible. Thank you to FIAPF and to APSA for recognising Asia Pacific voices and bringing us together to share our stories of humanity, courage and purpose.”
The 17th APSA International Jury was headed by Thai writer-director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Australian actor Chris Pang, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand producer Kerry Warkia, Korean filmmaker and policymaker Park Kiyong, as well as Kazakh producer Yuliya Kim.
The APSA Youth, Animation, Documentary International Jury, determining the winners in those three categories, was led by Italy’s Udine Far East Film Festival co-founder Sabrina Baracetti, Japan and US-based producer Alex C Lo, Indonesian program director Gugi Gumilang and Australian actress Jillian Nguyen.
During the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony, the four recipients of the Motion Picture Association’s APSA Academy Film Fund grants of US$25,000 were also announced.
The recipients are producer Estelle Fialon for animated documentary Outside Kabul, producer Yulia Evina Bhara and writer-director Makbul Mubarak for Indonesian feature Watch It Burn, cinematographer Robbin Yuchao Feng and director Qiu Jiongjiong for Chinese feature Fuxi: Joy in Four Chapters and producer-writer Aiko Masubuchi with writer-director Neo Sora for youth feature A Trip to Australia.
The APSA was held at The Langham, Gold Coast, on the traditional land of the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh language region.
Three previously-announced winners were all in attendance in Australia to accept their awards, including Neo Sora, who received APSA’s Young Cinema Award in partnership with NETPAC for Happyend; Nepali director Min Bahadur Bham accepted the Cultural Diversity Award for Shambhala; and Georgia’s Data Chachua accepted his APSA for Best New Performer for Panopticon, which also stars Ia Sukhitashvili.
Tracey Vieira, Chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, said: “Tonight we celebrate cinematic stories from 24 countries and areas of Asia Pacific and I congratulate all the winners of the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. As the next generation of filmmakers comes to the fore, with a record-breaking number of emerging filmmakers, the stories on screen represent the most diverse collection of voices ever heard at APSA.
“Through the expertly crafted storytelling of the winners, we are able to explore a more expansive view of the world around us, amplifying the compelling voices, experiences and lives of those otherwise not often seen: nurses, carers, lawyers, women’s health workers and children.”
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
