Message from the MPA
Filmmaking is not easy. It requires of the writer an essential ability to engage their imagination to create an original story that is well told. It requires of the writer a capacity to fully comprehend the language of cinema. It also requires of the writer the providence to sit in front of a keyboard, often for months at a time, with little or no other means of income, to give the screenplay the attention it deserves.
This is where the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund comes in. The primary vision for the Film Fund was to provide the kind of support for filmmakers that would allow them the time and freedom to fully embrace the development phase of their project, giving them every opportunity to realize the best possible version of their screenplay, often in situations where no other means of development support is available.
Throughout the last eleven years, the Film Fund has led to the development and recognition of a wide range of unique stories from the Asia Pacific – tales from as far afield as China, Iran, South Korea, Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Australia, Israel, Turkey, New Zealand, Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Denmark, Bangladesh, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Thailand, Bhutan and UEA/France.
Many of these films have progressed into production, and found acclaim at the world’s most admired festivals and film awards.
Here at the MPA, we are honoured to contribute to some the most memorable moments in Asia Pacific cinema. We salute the filmmakers and the team at the APSA and wish the Asia Pacific Screen Awards continued success.
Belinda Lui
President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific Region
Motion Picture Association
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.