By Rama Gaind
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards has unveiled the international jury members who will join previously announced president, Lord David Puttnam, for the fourth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards to be held on the Gold Coast, Australia, on December 2.
Academy Award winner and producer of Chariots of Fire, The Mission and The Killing Fields, Lord Puttnam, has assembled a jury of highly experienced industry professionals from across the globe. They are:
. Indian actress and star of Road Tannishtha Chatterjee, often referred to as the ‘Princess of Parallel Cinema’, for her work in Indian arthouse cinema while also being known as one of the most international of Indian actresses for performances in films such as Britain’s Brick Lane.
. Multi award-winning Indonesian writer, producer and director, Salman Aristo, who wrote the screenplay for Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops, 2008) which holds the record for the highest box office in Indonesian film history.
. Ming Zhenjiang – producer and First Deputy President of the China Film Producers Association, FIAPF’s official representative in the People’s Republic of China.
. Acclaimed Australian cinematographer Ellery Ryan whose credits include such Australian classics as Angel Baby and Spotswood.
. Kazakh writer/director Sergey Dvortsevoy whose film Tulpan won the APSA Best Feature Film Award in 2008 and the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes International Film Festival in the same year.
. Turkish filmmaker and film academic Sedar Akar whose many awarded films include Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, which became the highest grossing Turkish film of all time.
Lord Puttnam is in Australia and is meeting other jury members from November 22 on the Gold Coast to commence their deliberations.
Thirty-one documentary, animated, children’s and feature films from 15 countries and areas have been nominated for the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Winners will be announced at the APSA ceremony, which will be attended by nominees and special guests from across the region.
An international cultural initiative of the Queensland Government, APSA is a unique collaboration with UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations which acclaims 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.
APSA’s previous jury presidents have been renowned Indian actress and humanitarian Shabana Azmi (2007), Australian director and Academy Award nominee Bruce Beresford (2008), and leading Chinese producer and director Huang Jianxin (2009).
According to APSA chairman Des Power, the “2010 international jury, headed by Lord David Puttnam, is representative both of the international filmmaking community and also of the diverse range of skills within the screen industry – including producing, acting, directing and cinematography”.
“The jury has a demanding task ahead of them to determine the winners across nine APSA Award categories, to be selected from the 31 films which have received nominations. I know they will undertake this challenging work with enthusiasm and integrity and I look forward to welcoming them to the Gold Coast.”
The members of the 2010 International Jury will automatically be inducted into the Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Led by patron Jack Thompson, the academy is a growing body of the region’s most influential names in film including past APSA nominees, international jury and nominations council members.
The 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony will be webcast live through www.asiapacificscreenawards.com.
