2010 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Recipient

Sergey Dvortsevoy was a member of APSA’s 2010 International Jury and writer/director of 2008 APSA Best Feature Film winner, Tulpan, which also won the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year. He received a development grant for his project Ayka (Aйка), which had its World Premiere in Official Competition at the 71st Cannes Film Festival 2018.

“What I really like about Sergey is that he observes his subjects, but he is observing them with very caring emotions that are not over dramatized. That was one of the things I really loved about Tulpan and I can see that in again in Ayka. He treats his subject matter and his characters with such sincerity and he also brings his documentary background into the making of his feature films.” – Hanna Lee, Selection Panellist

Asghar Farhadi was inducted into the APSA Academy in 2009 when his film About Elly won the APSA for Best Screenplay, as well as the Jury Grand Prize. He received a development grant for his project Nader and Simin: A Separation.

“Asghar Farhadi’s film is a beautiful human study of a very normal everyday life, with people in a region who are being challenged all the time by issues social, geographical and financial. While I am not familiar with Iranian culture, as an outsider I find it fascinating and very touching…. his work is beautiful.” – Pauline Chan, Selection Panellist

Nader and Simin: A Separation premiered at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Golden Bear for Best Film along with the Silver Bears for Best Actor and Actress awarded to the ensemble cast. The film received over 70 international awards, including the 2011 APSA Best Feature Film, Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the César for Best Foreign Film and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Lee Chang-dong is the former Minister for Culture and Tourism of South Korea. He is a multiple APSA Winner whose 2007 film Secret Sunshine was named Best Feature Film at the inaugural APSAs and also took out the Best Performance by an Actress (Jeon Do-yeon) award that year. At the 2010 APSAs, Poetry won the Achievement in Directing (Lee Chang-dong) and Best Performance by an Actress (Yun Jung-hee) awards. He received a development grant for his project Burning, which had its World Premiere in Official Competition at the 71st Cannes Film Festival 2018.

“This is a superbly written treatment, and I think it will develop into a superbly written feature film. It has a very strong foundation in reality; in this case, historical literature provided inspiration for what I believe will be a very moving powerful film.” – Andrew Pike, Selection Panellist

Peng Tao was inducted into the APSA Academy for his film Little Moth which was nominated for an APSA in 2007 for Achievement in Directing. The film also screened at more than 50 international film festivals and received numerous awards, including the NETPAC Award at 60th Locarno International Film Festival.  He received a development grant for his project The Cremator.

“I really love that Peng Tao’s work is able to depart from the traditional structure of Chinese filmmaking, which we, in the west are quite familiar with. To me he represents a new wave and a new voice in a really refined, restrained culture. He is able to find a traditional angle, a Chinese tradition, but he is able to bring the tradition into a new light so that it surprises you.” – Pauline Chan, Selection Panellist