‘Shoplifters’.
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) today announced the nine films nominated for this year’s Best Asian Film award.
This is the second year AACTA has presented the award, which forms the foundation for the organisation’s Asia International Engagement Program. The award is meant to recognise the calibre of films from the Asian region and their growing popularity in Australasia and around the world – Asian films have contributed $36 million to the Aussie box office in the last 12 months.
This year’s nominees are: Joon-Hwan Jang’s 1987 When the Day Comes (South Korea); Yang Ya-che’s The Bold, The Corrupt and the Beautiful (Taiwan); Muye Wen’s Dying to Survive (China); Dipesh Jain’s Gali Guleiyan (India); Amit V. Masurkar’s Newton (India); Raj Kumar Hirani’s Sanju (India); Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters (Japan), which won the Palme d’Or; Australian director Seth Lareny’s Tombiruo (Malaysia) and Feng Xiaogang’s Youth (China).
The long list of films in competition were reviewed and judged by three pre-selection committees of esteemed industry figures. Each of the committees assessed a specific region – Chinese speaking territories, India and another committee that encompassed South Korea, Japan and other Asian territories. In accordance with their knowledge and experience, each of the committees determined three clear nominees from their allocated regions.
The winner of the Best Asian Film Award is then determined by a Grand Jury, led again this year by AFI Russell Crowe, who returns as president.
Also returning as jurors are Indian actor Anupam Kher (Hotel Mumbai, Silver Linings Playbook), Indian actress Shabana Azmi (Neerja, The Black Prince) and film critic Margaret Pomeranz.
They will be joined by new Grand Jury members: Chinese screenwriter Yi Liu (Wolf Warrior II) and Australian director and producer Paul Currie (Hacksaw Ridge, Bleeding Steel, The Longest Shot); Finnish director, producer and screenwriter Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight); South Korean director and cartoonist Woo-seok Yang (The Attorney, Steel Rain); and Japanese actress, director, producer and writer Kiki Sugino (Yuki Onna, Yokudô, Hospitalité).
“We are thrilled to see another incredible line-up of nominees for the Best Asian Film Award,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “Not only have these nine films seen incredible success in their home countries, but they have also been critical and commercial hits here in Australia and abroad. We are proud to honour these world-class films and recognise the incredible work of our neighbouring Asian film industries.”
The winner of the Award will be announced in Sydney at the 8th AACTA Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 5 December 2018.