On the eve of its annual Awards ceremony to be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards today announced the Winner of the annual APSA NETPAC Prize.
Design to nurture outstanding talent in the region, a prize of US$5,000 is offered by APSA in collaboration with the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) to a filmmaker from within the pool of Nominees.
The Prize has been awarded to Park Chan-ok, a director and screenwriter from the Republic of Korea, for her feature film Paju, nominated in this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Best Feature Film. Lead actress Seo Woo has also received a Best Performance by an Actress nomination for the film.
The Prize is determined by a Jury made up of members of the APSA Nominations Council, this year comprising Professor Hong-joon Kim (Chair – Republic of Korea), Russell Edwards (Australia) and Nan Achnas (Indonesia).
Nan Achnas made the announcement of Park Chan-ok’s win today at the official induction of all APSA Nominees into the APSA Academy. Ms Achnas said that the Jury believed Paju to be: “A beautiful and restrained film directed with a sure hand about an unusual and tragic relationship.”
More than 60 filmmakers from across the Asia Pacific region are gathered on the Gold Coast for tomorrow evening’s Awards Ceremony.
The APSAs are an initiative of the Queensland Government, Australia in unique collaboration with UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations acclaim films from 70 countries and areas; one third of the earth; and half the world’s film output. Films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins.
Thirty-one documentary, animated, children’s and feature films from 15 countries and areas have been nominated for the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards with Best Feature Nominees coming from Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the People’s Republic of China.
The 2010 Nominees are automatically inducted into the Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards making them eligible to apply for the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, a new US$100,000 script development fund supported by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and available exclusively to Academy members. The film fund submission period closes on October 29 and the fund’s inaugural recipients will be announced at the APSA Ceremony on December 2. Led by Patron Jack Thompson, the Academy is a growing body of the region’s most influential names in film including past APSA Winners, Nominees, International Jury and Nominations Council members.
The International Jury headed by Lord David Puttnam is on the Gold Coast to determine the Winners ahead of the APSA Ceremony on December 2.