Gold Coast, November 27: The Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA) last night honoured filmmakers of the region at special Award Presentation with Indian filmmaker Akshay Indikar winning the Young Cinema Award for Chronicle of Space – Sthalpuran.
Indikar’s award was one of only two major awards presented in 2020, part of a moving presentation, held at Home of The Arts – a celebration of cultural diversity through the region’s cinema as well as a powerful show of support for its future.
The APSA Presentation Ceremony marks the end of the 2020 APSA Forum, a weeklong series of panel and roundtable events, delivered both in person and digitally, with participants from 18 countries.
The moving presentation, held at Home of The Arts, was a celebration of cultural diversity through the region’s cinema as well as a powerful show of support for its future.
A Special Mention in this category went to Australia’s Stephen Maxwell Johnson for High Ground. Presented by NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian and Asia Pacific Cinema) and Griffith Film School (GFS), the award recognises the abundant emerging talent of the Asia Pacific.
Hosted by Iranian born Australian presenter Leila McKinnon, the event was attended by Jack Thompson AM PhD, President of the APSA Academy of the region’s filmmakers.
Chair of APSA, Tracey Vieira said, “In a year that has seen the world of cinema put on dramatic pause, it was thrilling to see the APSA 2020 Award Presentation and Forum reinvigorate filmmakers right across our region.
“The creative energy, diversity and dynamism of all involved demonstrated that the future of screen stories in our region will continue to shine brighter and brighter”.
The Young Cinema Jury issued a statement about the winning film: “Akshay Indikar has a real and rare cinematic vision. Using breath-taking imagery and intricate soundscapes, his film took the jury on a multi-layered journey of discovery evolving through the perspective of sublime innocence.
“We congratulate him on this incredible achievement and look forward to what comes next.”
Sthalpuran is the Sophomore feature from director Indikar, who also co-wrote, edited and did sound design on the film. The accomplished young filmmaker hails from Gondhali nomadic tribe in southwest India and is proud to make films in his own language, Marathi, to share with the world.
Sthalpuran, which premiered at the Berlinale 2020, is a young boy’s story as told through his diary entries, as he copes with change and loss in his new life immersed in the natural world on India’s Konkan Coast. As the title suggests, Indikar packs a chronicle of a place seen through the bespectacled eyes of the protagonist, young Dighu. Forced to relocate with his mother and sister from Pune to a village in the Konkan after his father walks out on the family, Dighu regards his new surroundings warily .
2019 APSA Young Cinema Award winner was another Indian, Ridham Janve, who received a grant of US $25 000 for key early stage script development for his project The Sacrifice – Ashwamedh.
Also read: AR Rahman confirms gangs in Bollywood
In a year in which ongoing support for the industry is more crucial than ever, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund announced four new recipients. 2020 projects include first-time winners, Philippines, Vietnam and Japan along with Annemarie Jacir from Palestine for her project All Before You. She also won in 2017 for film Wajib, which won 36 other international awards.
Thai creative producer Soros Sukhum took out the 2020 FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film in the Asia Pacific region. The award celebrate a film practitioner from the region whose career and actions contribute strongly to the development of the film industry in their own country as well as nurturing international collaborations and relationships.
“Screen Queensland has been proud to support APSA in 2020, keeping the local industry strong and strengthening ties with our neighbours across this vast region,” CEO of Screen Queensland Kylie Munnich said.