MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND CELEBRATES TEN YEARS FUNDING ASIA PACIFIC STORIES
MPA APSA ACADEMY FILM FUND CELEBRATES TEN YEARS FUNDING ASIA PACIFIC STORIES
2019 Film Fund Now Open For Submissions
BEIJING/SINGAPORE: On April 17, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) and its Academy, and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), announced the 2019 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund open for submissions. The announcement was held at the MPA-BFM Film Workshop during the 9th Beijing International Film Festival.
Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director Asia Pacific MPA, said, “It is a pleasure to launch the 10th round of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund during the Beijing International Film Festival. The MPA is very proud of how far the Fund has come – telling diverse stories in the Asia Pacific, supporting these extremely talented filmmakers and helping to realize so many acclaimed productions for the screen. We look forward to working again with APSA to see four new projects receive support this year.”
Chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and its Academy, Michael Hawkins said “Cinema is an art form that takes time, and ten years on we are all seeing the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund thrive, with films in all stages of development and many that have gone on to win the world’s top film prizes. I thank the MPA as our longstanding partner organization, in supporting so many films at such a crucial stage of development.”
Committed to investing in the rich storytelling traditions of the region, spanning 70 countries and areas, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund was created to support the development of, at the crucial early script stage, new feature film projects by APSA Academy members and their colleagues from across the region. The fund awards four development grants of US$25,000 annually and is wholly supported by the MPA.
Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong, who’s critical smash-hit and fund supported film BURNING opens in Australian cinemas today and on Netflix internationally on 29 April, said of the fund, “MPA APSA Academy Film Fund provides great support for the screenwriters. Their support means a lot because it’s not just financial, but it shows faith in the film’s potential. They have supported and believed in me and Ms. Oh Jung-mi, and have waited for the film’s completion.’
To date, 36 projects from 20 different countries and areas of Asia Pacific have been supported through the initiative, with recipients including both emerging talent and established auteurs. 11 feature films have been completed and debuted to international acclaim.
Highlights include:
- 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official Selection – AYKA, BURNING, THE WILD PEAR TREE
- 2018 Venice Film Festival, Orrizonti Selection – THE RIVER, MEMORIES OF MY BODY
- 2014 WINNER International Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary – NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS
- 2010 WINNER 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).
- Indian star Nawazuddin Siddiqui (SACRED GAMES, THE LUNCHBOX) will star in and co-produce NO MAN’S LAND, from Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), and chose the project based on the script. He said that, “The script explores today’s strange world, with strong humor, satire, and emotion. I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than just the capacity of an actor, as I thought this is that kind of film which really needs to be made.”
The 2019 recipients, determined by the dedicated MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Jury, will be announced during the 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Thursday 21st November 2019 in Brisbane, Australia.
In a further opportunity for a recipient, the MPA will hold screenings of films from the region at the MPAA headquarters in Washington DC, USA for its constituents. Previous editions of the event have included screenings of MPA APSA Academy Film Fund completed projects BURNING, A SEPARATION, NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS and MEMORIES ON STONE. SHOPLIFTERS, winner of Best Feature Film at the 2018 APSAs, is scheduled for a screening later this year.
Attendees at the Beijing event included representatives of the MPA and APSA Academy Member Professor Zhang Xianmin (People’s Republic of China).
MORE INFORMATION ON THE MPA APSA Academy Film Fund:
https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/about-academy/mpa-apsa-academy-film-fund
The MPA-BFM Film Workshop, co-hosted with partners Beijing Film Market and the Beijing International Film Festival, offered a behind-the-scenes look at the production of hit movie THE WANDERING EARTH and took a deep dive into the arthouse film circuit in the country and HBO’s successful content strategy with expert speakers from the Chinese film industry and overseas. See the film workshop program here.
The MPA-BFM feature film pitching competition was won by director Tang Furui and producer Xu Rui for their film UNUSUAL MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. The two will attend a five-day film immersion course in Los Angeles in November. Director Song Linguo and producer Guo Sheng were awarded the President’s Special Recognition Award for their film WORLD OF TALES, winning a trip to the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia in November.
Images of the event are available here.
ABOUT THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS & ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY:
The region’s highest accolade in film, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, based in Brisbane, Australia, are supported by Brisbane City Council and managed by economic development board Brisbane Marketing. APSA recognises and promotes cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest growing film region: comprising 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people, and responsible for half of the world’s film output.
APSA and its Academy is committed to its ongoing global partnerships with UNESCO, FIAPF, the European Film Academy (EFA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano, NETPAC (the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), the Asia Pacific Screen Lab (APSL) and Griffith Film School.
All APSA nominees, International Nominations Council, Nominee Selection Panels and APSA International Jury members are inducted into the prestigious APSA Academy presided over by President, Australian screen legend Jack Thompson AM PhD. The Academy boasts over 1,200 of the region’s leading filmmakers and provides exclusive networking, development and funding opportunities available to Academy members through the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, and Academy mentoring opportunities for the next generation of Asia Pacific filmmakers through the Asia Pacific Screen Lab.
https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/about
https://www.asiapacificscreenawards.com/about-academy
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ABOUT THE MPA:
Promoting & Protecting Screen Communities in Asia Pacific
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of the six international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. To do so, they promote and protect the intellectual property rights of these companies and conduct public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to transform entire markets benefiting film and television industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.
The organizations act on behalf of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) which include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, LLC, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios LLC, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The MPA and the MPA-I have worldwide operations which are directed from their head offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. For more information about the MPA and the MPA-I, please visit www.mpa-apac.org.
For more information, please contact
Stephen Jenner
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033
June Tan
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033