‘Drive My Car,’ ‘A Hero’ lead 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) nominations

Nominations in the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) were revealed with nods for 38 films from 25 Asia Pacific countries and areas. Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 11 at the 14th APSA Ceremony on Australia’s Gold Coast, and streamed across the globe. 

Japan and Islamic Republic of Iran lead the field with seven nominations each. 

Drawn from the world’s fastest growing film region encompassing 70 countries and areas, and representing half the world’s film output, the APSAs set a high bar for celebration of cultural diversity and cinematic excellence. 

Two films, both winners at Cannes this year, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car and Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero (Ghahreman), achieved the most nominations, with both films up for the same four categories – Best Feature Film, Achievement in Directing, Best Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor. 

Another Cannes winner, Payal Kapadia’s breakthrough A Night of Knowing Nothing (India) is also nominated for Best Feature Film, as is Russian director Natalya Nazarova’s The Pencil (Prostoy karandash) and Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof’s Golden Bear winner There is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad).

Given the impact of COVID-19 on the region, the eligibility of films in competition this year was extended back to the end of 2019, increasing the field and calibre of competition significantly.

Best Youth Feature Film award features three emerging women directors with their debut or second features nominated. They are Yoon Dan-bi for Moving On (Nam-mae-wui Yeo-reum-bam, Republic of Korea), Granaz Moussavi’s When Pomegranates Howl (Afghanistan, Australia, Netherlands, Iran) and Saudi filmmaker Shahad Ameen’s Scales (Sayidat Al Bahr, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, who follows in the footsteps of Haifaa al-Mansour, the first Saudi woman filmmaker who was nominated in this category in 2013. 

Completing the nominations for Best Youth Feature Film are Ferit Karahan’s Brother’s Keeper (Okul Tıraşı, Turkey, Romania) and Nobuhiro Suwa’s Voices in the Wind (Kaze no Denwa, Japan) which also features Drive My Car Best Actor nominee Hidetoshi Nishijima. 

Best Animated Feature Film offers a diverse selection of themes, cultures and disciplines of animation amongst the five nominees: Bashir El Deek and Ibrahim Mousa’s The Knight and The Princess (Saudi Arabia, Egypt), Beauty Water (Gigigoegoe Seonghyeongsu, Republic of Korea), Ayumu Watanabe’s Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Gyoko no Nikuko-chan, Japan), Andrey Khrzhanovsky’s The Nose or The Conspiracy of Mavericks (Nos ili zagovor netakikh, Russian Federation) and Ari Folman’s Where is Anne Frank (Belgium). 

As always, the Best Documentary Feature Film nominations represent some of the most important stories of Asia Pacific, and often made in the most difficult circumstances. The nominees in 2021 are Vitaly Mansky’s Gorbachev. Heaven (Latvia, Czech Republic), Eliane Raheb’s Miguel’s War (Aanaf Hob, Lebanon, Spain, Germany), Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya (Sweden), Mohammed Abugeth and Daniel Carsenty’s The Devil’s Drivers (Lebanon, Qatar, France, Germany) and finally Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s Writing With Fire (India). 

Nominations for Achievement in Directing, Best Screenplay, Achievement in Cinematography and Best Performance categories for Actress and Actor follow in the list below. The winners will be determined by the APSA International Jury, who will be announced in the coming weeks.

Winners will also be announced in APSA’s three special categories, the Cultural Diversity Award under the patronage of UNESCO, the Young Cinema Award in partnership with NETPAC and GFS, and the FIAPF Award for Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema. 

The APSA Ceremony will include the annual announcement of recipients of the four MPA APSA Academy Film Fund grants for 2021. 

The 25 Asia Pacific countries and areas represented in the nominees are Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and, for the first time, Vietnam. 

The APSA Ceremony on November 11 will also launch the 3rd Asia Pacific Screen Forum, an action-packed six-day program of industry-led networking opportunities, designed to facilitate relationships and collaborations between filmmakers across Asia Pacific. Like the ceremony, the forum will take place both in-person and virtually, with many nominees and APSA Academy Members participating from around the globe.

The 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards and 3rd Asia Pacific Screen Forum are presented by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, with the support of the City Of Gold Coast, Screen Queensland, Netflix, Motion Picture Association, Griffith University Griffith Film School. 

Here is the complete list of nominations of the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

BEST FEATURE FILM

A Hero (Ghahreman)

Islamic Republic of Iran, France
Directed by Asghar FARHADI
Produced by Asghar FARHADI, Alexandre MALLET-GUY

A Night of Knowing Nothing

India, France
Directed by Payal KAPADIA
Produced by Thomas HAKIM, Julien GRAFF, Ranabir DAS

Drive My Car

Japan
Directed by Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI
Produced by Teruhisa YAMAMOTO

The Pencil (Prostoy karandash)

Russian Federation
Directed by Natalya NAZAROVA
Produced by Maxim DASHKIN, Anna VON DZIEMBOWSKA, Boris FRUMIN, Danil FERBIKOV, Denis KOVALEVSKIY

There is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad)

Islamic Republic of Iran, Czech Republic, Germany
Directed by Mohammad RASOULOF
Produced by Mohammad RASOULOF, Kaveh FARNAM, Farzad PAK

BEST YOUTH FEATURE FILM

Brother’s Keeper (Okul Tıraşı)

Turkey, Romania
Directed by Ferit KARAHAN
Produced by Kanat DOĞRAMACI

Moving On (Nam-mae-wui Yeo-reum-bam)

Republic of Korea
Directed by YOON Dan-bi
Produced by YOON Dan-bi, KIM Gi-hyeon

Scales (Sayidat Al Bahr)

Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia
Directed by Shahad AMEEN
Produced by R Paul MILLER, Stephen STRACHAN, Rula NASSER

Voices in the Wind (Kaze no Denwa)

Japan
Directed by Nobuhiro SUWA
Produced by Eiji IZUMI

When Pomegranates Howl

Afghanistan, Australia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Netherlands
Directed by Granaz MOUSSAVI
Produced by Granaz MOUSSAVI, Baheer WARDAK, Marzieh VAFAMEHR, Christine WILLIAMS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Beauty Water (Gigigoegoe Seonghyeongsu)

Republic of Korea
Directed by CHO Kyung-hun
Produced by JEON Byung-jin

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Gyoko no Nikuko-chan)

Japan
Directed by Ayumu WATANABE
Produced by Sanma AKASHIYA, Eiko TANAKA, Shu KAMIGASO, Mitsugu YAMADA

The Knight and The Princess

Saudi Arabia, Egypt
Directed by Bashir EL DEEK, Ibrahim MOUSA
Produced by Alabbas BIN ALABBAS

The Nose or The Conspiracy of Mavericks (Nos ili zagovor netakikh)

Russian Federation
Directed by Andrey KHRZHANOVSKY
Produced by Andrey KHRZHANOVSKY

Where is Anne Frank

Belgium
Directed by Ari FOLMAN
Produced by Jani THILTGES, Yves KUGELMANN, Ari FOLMAN, Alexander RODNYANSKY

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

Gorbachev. Heaven

Latvia, Czech Republic
Directed by Vitaly MANSKY
Produced by Natalia MANSKAIA, Filip REMUNDA, Vít KLUSÁK

Miguel’s War (Aanaf Hob)

Lebanon, Spain, Germany
Directed by Eliane RAHEB
Produced by Eliane RAHEB

Sabaya

Sweden
Directed by Hogir HIRORI
Produced by Antonio RUSSO MERENDA, Hogir HIRORI

The Devil’s Drivers

Lebanon, Qatar, France, Germany
Directed by Mohammed ABUGETH, Daniel CARSENTY
Produced by Daniel CARSENTY, Felix BLUM

Writing With Fire

India
Directed by Rintu THOMAS, Sushmit GHOSH
Produced by Sushmit GHOSH, Rintu THOMAS

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Asghar FARHADI for A Hero (Ghahreman)
Islamic Republic of Iran, France

Dea KULUMBEGASHVILI for Beginning (Dasatskisi)
Georgia, France

Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI for Drive My Car
Japan

P S VINOTHRAJ for Pebbles (Koozhangal)
India

Kamila ANDINI for Yuni
Indonesia, Singapore, France

BEST SCREENPLAY

Asghar FARHADI for A Hero (Ghahreman)
Islamic Republic of Iran

Nasim AHMADPOUR, Shahram MOKRI for Careless Crime (Jenayat-e bi deghat)
Islamic Republic of Iran

Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI, OE Takamasa for Drive My Car
Japan

Dana IDISIS for Here We Are (Hine Anachnu)
Israel, Italy

Asif RUSTAMOV, Roelof Jan MINNEBOO, Ilgar NAJAF for Sughra’s Sons
Azerbaijan, France, Germany

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

FENG Yuchao Robbin for A New Old Play (Jiao ma tang hui)
Hong Kong, France

Phuttiphong AROONPHENG for Anatomy of Time (Wela)
Thailand, Singapore, France, Netherlands

Vignesh KUMULAI, Che PARTHIBAN for Pebbles (Koozhangal)
India

NGUYỄN Vinh Phúc for Taste (Vị)
Vietnam, Singapore, France, Thailand, Germany

Akiko ASHIZAWA for Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas)
Indonesia, Singapore, Germany

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS

Alena YIV for Asia
Israel

Azmeri HAQUE BADHON for Rehana (Rehana Maryam Noor)
Bangladesh, Qatar, Singapore

Valentina ROMANOVA-CHYSKYYRAY for Scarecrow (Pugalo)
Russian Federation

Leah PURCELL for The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson
Australia

Essie DAVIS for The Justice of Bunny King
New Zealand

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR

Amir JADIDI for A Hero (Ghahreman)
Islamic Republic of Iran, France

Levan TEDIASHVILI for Brighton 4th
Georgia, Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Monaco, United States of America

Hidetoshi NISHIJIMA for Drive My Car
Japan

Merab NINIDZE for House Arrest (Delo)
Russian Federation

Caleb LANDRY JONES for Nitram
Australia