Photo: AACTA
By Neeraj Nanda
MELBOURNE, 17 October: The Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts Award for the Best Asian Film will form part of the grand and glittering program at a star-studded event in December this year in Sydney. The award will recognize excellence in filmmaking throughout the Asian region and reflect the popularity and importance of Asian films in Australia.
The winner of the Award, determined by the Best Asian Film Grand Jury led by Oscar® and multiple AFI and AACTA Award-winning actor Russell Crowe, will be announced in Sydney at the 7th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Foxtel on Wednesday 6 December 2017 at The Star Event Centre.
Crowe will be joined a panel of eight jurors, including Chinese director, screenwriter and producer Lu Chuan (BORN IN CHINA, CHRONICLES OF THE GHOSTLY TRIBE); acclaimed South Korean writer, director and producer Kim Ki-Duk (SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER…AND SPRING, 3-IRON, PIETA); five-time National Film Award of India Best Actress winner Shabana Azmi (NEERJA, THE BLACK PRINCE, ARTH); Golden Rooster Award-winning Chinese actor Ye Liu (THE FOLIAGE, DARK MATTER, BLOOD BROTHERS); Oscar®-nominated producer Gary Kurtz (THE DARK CRYSTAL, STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE); British producer and distributor of Japanese and South Korean films, and Managing Director of Third Window Films Adam Torel (THE LAND OF HOPE, LOWLIFE LOVE); Australian film critic, producer and presenter Margaret Pomeranz AM (THE MOVIE SHOW, AT THE MOVIES); and prolific Indian actor Anupam Kher (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, A WEDNESDAY!).
“As the Asian screen industry continues to grow and the traditional borders to content distribution are breaking down, audiences across the world are discovering what other regions have to offer,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “There is strong audience demand for Asian cinema in Australia and an increase in co-productions between Western and Asian filmmakers. Our Program seeks to bring the best and the brightest from both regions to new audiences.”
The line-up of nominees, representing films from India, China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, includes record-breaking box office hits, Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® entries, arthouse masterpieces and critically acclaimed social commentaries that have triggered worldwide debate.
The nine nominees are: BIRDSHOT (Philippines), DANGAL (India),I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY (China), KAASAV: TURTLE (India), OUR TIME WILL COME (China), PINK (India),
TRAIN TO BUSAN (South Korea), WOLF WARRIOR II (China) and YOUR NAME (Japan), says the website of the AF-AACTA.
Filipino thriller BIRDSHOT’s nomination follows its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival earlier this month. The film premiered worldwide at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, where it won Best Picture in the Asian Future category, and was recently announced as the Philippine’s entry for the Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film.
DANGAL has not only received critical acclaim but has also broken box office records, becoming the first Indian film to gross $300 million worldwide and the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide. The Hindi language sports film has also won awards at the 64th National Film Awards and 62nd Filmfare Awards in India, as well as receiving the Telstra People’s Choice Award at the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
Based on Chinese novelist Liu Zhenyun’s I Did Not Kill My Husband, I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY marks Zhenyun, director Feng Xiaogang, multi-Award winning actress Fan BingBing’s second collaboration, following the Golden Rooster nominated CELL PHONE. The film has been critically praised, in particular for its innovative use of circular frames, receiving a slew of awards, including a Toronto International Film Festival International Critics’ Award and the Golden Seashell at the 64th San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Lauded for addressing the subject of mental health, KAASAV: TURTLE is the latest film from seven-time National Film Award-winning Marathi filmmakers Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar. The Marathi-language film became the fifth film in the language to win India’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film in its 64-year history.
Berlinale Camera winner and eight-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning director Ann Hui’s war epic OUR TIME WILL COME portrays the fight and struggles of resistance groups during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. The film adds an AACTA nomination to a growing list of nominations, including five nominations for the 54th Golden Horse Awards in China.
Hindi social thriller PINK has received universal acclaim for its candid focus on the treatment of women in Indian culture. The film, which received the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues, challenges many of the Bollywood film industry’s clichés and has opened up debate around consent, patriarchy and the treatment of women in India.
After premiering at the Midnight Screenings at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, zombie horror film TRAIN TO BUSAN went on to become the highest grossing film of 2016 in South Korea. The film has received numerous accolades, including awards at Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival and was nominated for Best Horror Film by the American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
WOLF WARRIOR II has seen massive commercial success since releasing in July, breaking multiple box office records and becoming the highest grossing Chinese film of all time and the first and only non-Hollywood film on the list of 100 highest-grossing films of all time, worldwide. The Chinese action film has also received critical acclaim and was recently announced as China’s entry for the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film.
Animated Japanese film YOUR NAME has received widespread acclaim from critics, numerous accolades and box-office success. Following the story of a high school girl and boy who swap bodies, the film has become the second-largest grossing domestic film in Japan and the highest grossing anime film worldwide.
“We are proud to honor the work of our Asian neighbors, whose films are more popular in Australia than ever before, and to recognize the rich storytelling from this region through the inaugural AACTA Award for Best Asian Film,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “The nine nominees form a unique snapshot of the finest Asian films released in Australia in the last year and are all must see films.”
AACTA will also develop a range of film forums in Australia and regionally as part of the Asia International Engagement Program. These forums present a significant opportunity to share knowledge and foster cultural understanding, allowing for greater harmony and engagement between the Australian and Asian screen industries and audiences, including the continually-evolving diaspora of Asian communities living in Australia and becoming active in our local industry.
The Asia International Engagement Program is being undertaken by AACTA in partnership with PR Asia. “As the achievements and potential of Asian media industries continue to grow and evolve, PR Asia is extremely proud to be partnering with the Australian Academy on the new AACTA Asia International Engagement Program,” said Co-Founder and Vice President of PR Asia Amy Xu.
Further information on the Asia International Engagement Program, the AACTA Award for Best Asian Film and the Best Asian Film Grand Jury can be found at – www.aacta.org
