A Mei is a Chinese screenwriter whose work includes The Law of Attraction (2011) and A Wedding Invitation (2013). A Mei’s works include Under The Hawthorne Tree (2010) directed by Zhang Yimou, which went on to win and be nominated for many awards, including a nomination for the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Asia Film. So Long, My Son (2019) was their first screenplay in six years and was co-written with Wang Xiaoshuai, the film’s director. For this film, they received their first APSA nomination for Best Screenplay.
Wang Xiaoshuai was a pioneer figure of Chinese independent films in the 1990s. By virtue of strong personal style, deep concern for humanity, and diligent independent filmmaking, Wang’s works have competed at the Cannes Film Festival 4 times (twice in Un Certain Regard, twice in main Competition), twice in the Berlinale, and also at Venice and San Sebastian film festivals. He has been appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture for his artistic accomplishments. His directorial debut, The Days (1993), is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Wang has received many distinguished honours notably the 51st Berlinale Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for Beijing Bicycle (2001), the Jury Prize for Shanghai Dreams (2005) at Cannes, and a second Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Screenplay for In Love We Trust (2008). Red Amnesia (2014) won the APSA for Best Performance by an Actress and he has been nominated for four individual APSAs including Best Children’s Feature Film in 2011 for 11 Flowers and three for So Long, My Son (2019), which won the Silver Bear for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. So Long, My Son received the most nominations of any film in APSA history with six.
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.
