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Filmmakers take note: The 2021 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund was launched today during a film workshop in Vietnam

April 28, 2021

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: The 12th round of the film fund dedicated to developing the diverse stories of Asia Pacific, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund opened today.  Also announced was the Jury to determine the four winners who will share in the annual pool of US$100,000 for script development of new feature film projects.

A joint initiative of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Fund represents both organisation’s shared goals to increase cultural diversity on screen in the fastest growing region of film production in the world, and is open exclusively to members of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy.

Heading the Jury in 2021 is esteemed Australian film distributor, historian and documentary filmmaker Andrew Pike OAM, now in his 12th year steering the selection process. He is joined by 2019 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund recipient, acclaimed producer Catherine Fitzgerald (New Zealand) and highly regarded executive and Screen Australia’s Head of Indigenous, Maramanindji woman Penny Smallacombe (Australia).

The winners of the four US$25,000 grants wholly supported by the MPA will be announced at the 2021 Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Thursday 11 November as the annual Asia Pacific Screen Forum opens.

Chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Academy Tracey Vieira said the partnership between the MPA and APSA continues to deliver a significant boost to the region’s creatives.

“The Asia Pacific Screen Academy is proud to support the creative voices across the region through our continued partnership with the MPA.  As we together face the repercussions of the global pandemic, we also recognise the value of art and culture in recording our stories”.

Belinda Lui, President and Managing Director Asia Pacific MPA, said “The Asia Pacific region is bursting with refreshing, new stories to be told, and the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund has been successful in unearthing some real gems from the region’s storytellers. It’s fitting that Vietnam is hosting the launch of this year’s Film Fund. The country’s screen industry is poised to enter a new phase in its relationship with the international film community, as reflected in today’s film workshop. Exciting, creative voices are passionate about bringing their visions to the world of cinema, including filmmakers such as Minh Quy Truong, who was a recipient of the Film Fund in 2020. We can’t wait to see this year’s range of diverse, ground-breaking film project ideas.”

The fund was opened at the MPA’s annual script to screen workshop where APSA was represented by Academy member Bui Thac Chuyen who entered the Academy in 2016 as a Asia Pacific Screen Lab Mentor and the guests heard from Minh Quy Truong who received a fund with producer Bianca Balbuena for Viet and Nam.

The fund’s annual investment of US$100,000 in the region’s storytellers is a collaboration between APSA, which honours the cinematic excellence of the culturally diverse region, and the MPA, the peak body representing some of the world’s biggest film studios.

To date, 44 projects from 22 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific have been supported through the initiative, with recipients including both emerging talent and established auteurs. 13 feature films have been completed and debuted to international acclaim.

MPA APSA Academy Film Fund project highlights include:

  • 2019 San Sebastian International Film Festival Competition & APAS winner – A Dark, Dark Man
  • 2018 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Award & APSA winner – Burning
  • 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official Selection & Best Actress winner – Ayka
  • 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official Selection – The Wild Pear Tree
  • 2018 Venice Film Festival, Orizzonti Selection & Best Director winner – The River,
  • 2018 Venice Film Festival, Orizzonti Selection & APSA winner – Memories of My Body
  • 2017 Locarno Festival winner – Wajib
  • 2014 International Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary – No Burqas Behind Bars
  • 2010 Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film – A Separation

Fund Films in development include:

  • Haifa Al Mansour’s Miss Camel, an empowering animated tale of a young Saudi Arabian girl, currently being developed with LA’s ShadowMachine (BoJack Horseman, Robot Chicken)
  • Production has completed on No Land’s Man, from Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), co-produced by and starring Indian star Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Sacred Games, The Lunchbox)

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