The 8th annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia has announced its nominees in various categories, with Iran having five nominations for the ‘Best Feature Film and Achievement in Directing.’
The nominees from among 36 films from 21 Asia Pacific countries are vying for the region’s highest accolade in films. Iran closely follows the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation which lead the nominations with six each, MNA reported.
‘I’m Not Angry’ directed by Reza Dormishian has been nominated in two categories: Best Feature Film, and Best Performance by an Actor, Navid Mohammadzadeh.
In the former category, the film is competing with ‘Winter Sleep’ (a joint production of Turkey, France and Germany), ‘Leviathan’ (Russian Federation), ‘The Owners’ (Kazakhstan), and ‘Memories on Stone’ (Iraqi Kurdistan).
Rakhshan Banietemad’s ‘Tales’ is nominated for the award in the Achievement in Directing. She has previously won the inaugural APSA for ‘Mainline.’
In the category of Best Performance by an Actress, Iranian actress Merila Zareie has been nominated for her role in ‘Track 143’ directed by Narges Abyar.
Nima Javidi’s feature film ‘Melbourne’ has also been nominated for the Best Screenplay at the 8th APSA.
Cultural Diversity
All of the four films have taken part in various festivals across the globe this year and are waiting to be screened in Iran, with ‘Track 143’ the first among them to hit the cinemas on November 5.
The 2014 APSA ceremony will be held in Brisbane’s historic City Hall on December 11 at a glittering event, with nominees and industry luminaries in attendance.
Winners in the feature film categories will be determined by the 2014 APSA International Jury, headed by the internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (The Past, A Separation).
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards recognizes and promotes the cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the vast Asia Pacific region.
Established in 2008, APSA brings together 500 of the region’s most respected names in film. This influential alumni of filmmakers grows by around 100 each year with the induction of APSA nominees, international jury and nominations’ council members.
Comprising one-third of the global nations, the 70 countries of the Asia Pacific region stretch from Egypt in the west to the Cook Islands in the east; and from Russia in the north to New Zealand in the south. They are home to 4.5 billion people and produce half the world’s films.
APSA is headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland and is an initiative of the Brisbane City Council.
