Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today welcomed the appointment of actress and humanitarian Shabana Azmi as president of an international jury deciding the first Asia Pacific Screen Awards which will be held on the Gold Coast later this year.
‘The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative and the Queensland Government is proud to be hosting it with the involvement of CNN International, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Federation of Film Producers Associations,’ Mr Beattie said.
‘I am delighted Ms Azmi has been appointed president of the jury because she’s not only an award-winning actress but she is highly regarded for her work with those less fortunate,’ he said.
‘Ms Azmi was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Population Fund in 1992 and she received a Gandhi Foundation International Peace Prize in 2006 for her work with the slum dwellers of Mumbai.’
Ms Azmi has acted in more than 140 films. A luminary of Indian Parallel (or New Wave) Cinema, she is renowned for the sensitivity of her portrayals in films such as Deepa Mehta’s Fire, Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom (Innocent) and Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players). Her international film roles include John Schlesinger’s Madame Sousatzka, Nicholas Klotz’s Bengali Night, Roland Joffe’s City of Joy and Ismail Merchant’s In Custody.
For her role in Fire, Miss Azmi won the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Chicago Film Festival. She has won five Best Actress and numerous other Indian film awards including the International Indian Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. A retrospective of her films featured at the New York Film Festival in 2002.
Ms Azmi has campaigned for women’s rights, housing and public health. She is a member of the National Integration Council headed by the Indian Prime Minister and a member of India’s National AIDS Commission.
‘The Asia-Pacific Screen Awards is unique partnership between CNN International, UNESCO, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations and Queensland Events, it will celebrate films that best reflect their cultural origins and cinematic excellence,’ said the Premier.
[release from the Premier’s Office / TM Publicity]