The 9th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) and the 2nd Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) are set to welcome to Brisbane the largest contingent of visiting filmmakers the New World City has ever seen, with 100 filmmakers and international stars, special guests and leading industry representatives confirming their attendance.
Guests will travel from over 20 Asia Pacific countries and their films include 2015 prize winners from Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Locarno, Venice and Toronto.
From 19 – 29 November they will present films at BAPFF, attend the prestigious APSA ceremony as nominees, representatives and guests, and participate in panel discussions and networking events in what will be unique and unprecedented opportunity to celebrate cultural diversity through film and to establish further collaboration in filmmaking across the region.
39 films from 22 Asia Pacific countries and areas are nominated in this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 34 of which will screen at BAPFF.
APSA International Red Carpet arrivals, a spectacular array of black tie and national dress, will take place in King George Square from 5.30pm on Thursday 26 November, ahead of the ceremony in Brisbane’s City Hall. The ceremony will be webcast live and will feature live entertainment from visiting international artists and Australia’s own Bombay Royale.
Guests attending include:
- International fashion model and actress Evgeniya Mandzhieva (The Gulls)
- Celebrated Filipino actress Shamaine Buencamino (Lorna)
- APSA nominated actor, Korean star Jung Jaeyoung (Right Now, Wrong Then)
- One of the world’s leading cinematographers and APSA nominee Mark Lee Ping-bing (The Assassin)
- Award-winning Australian filmmakers Rolf de Heer and Molly Reynolds (Another Country)
- Famous Tibetan actor and comedian Shide Nyima (Tharlo)
- Celebrated Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed Arya (Avalanche)
- Award winning Korean actress Lee Young-lan (End of Winter)
- Russian Actress Victoria Korotkova from Berlin Silver Bear winner (Under Electric Clouds)
- APSA International Jury President, APSA Patron and Busan International Film Festival founder and honorary director Kim Dong-Ho
- Egyptian star of stage and screen, CEO of Al Arabia Cinema, Vice President of the Egyptian Chamber of Cinema, Esaad Younis
- APSA International jury members: acclaimed Iranian Actress Negar Javaherian (Tales, Painting Pool, Melbourne), award-winning Bangladeshi writer/director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Malaysian filmmaker U-Wei Bin HajiSaari, renowned Russian writer/director Alexei Popogrebsky and filmmaker and Beijing Film Academy Professor, Zhang Xianmin.
- APSA International Youth, Animation and Documentary International Jury members: Chair of the Jury, Iraqi Kurdish filmmaker and APSA winner Shawkat Amin Korki, Japan’s Yuka Sakano and Hong Kong film specialist Sam Ho.
- APSA Ceremony presenters: Singaporean Cannes award winning filmmaker and APSA winner Anthony Chen (Ilo Ilo) and Australia’s Sofie Formica
- APSA Academy President Jack Thompson AM PhD
- Stephen Page, APSA nominee, Spear director and Artistic Director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre
- BAPFF guest, Australian, renowned cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous, In the Mood for Love, 2046)
- BAPFF guests Venice Film Festival winner, Michael Rowe and Trish Lake (Early Winter)
- Turkish Delegation of filmmakers led by Cannes Palme d’Or winning producer Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan (Winter Sleep) and representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey
- Mike Ellis, President of the Motion Picture Association
- Australian Delegation of writers, directors and producers including: Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket), Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Bastardy), Nadia Tass, Pauline Chan (33 Postcards) and James Lingwood.
You can also watch the ceremony webcast live on Thursday, 26 November 2015 from 19.00 (AEST)