Academy of Asia – Pacific Screen Award

Asia – Pacific Screen Award, which was very successful in its first edition, is planning to achieve more important goals it is pursuing for promotion of Asian and Pacific cinemas. Des Power announced establishment of the Award in May 8 which is supported by the Australian actor, Jack Thompson. More details were revealed on May 16 during Cannes Film Festival. The event, whose first edition was held last year sponsored by UNESCO, FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), and CNN International, aims to promote Asia and Pacific cinemas and filmmakers and to introduce them in international markets in order to find new markets for them. Des Power, chairman of Asia – Pacific Screen Award, announced that establishing Academy of Asia – Pacific Screen Award would be a next step to be taken to encourage cooperation and dialogue among regional filmmakers in order to create more trade opportunities for them. All 65 nominees for Asia – Pacific Screen Award in 2007 will become members of the Academy and a similar number of nominees are expected to become members of the Academy during the current year. The members will be influential in voting for future members. As put by Des Power, Asia – Pacific Screen Award will bring the most prominent filmmakers of the said regions together and the Academy will encourage continuation of that professional relationship in the hope that such cooperation would lead to joint productions among 72 countries of Asia and Pacific. Therefore, all Iranian directors who had been nominated for Asia – Pacific Screen Award, including Kioumars Pourahmad, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Mohsen Abdolvahhab, Houman Behmanesh, Vahid Mousaeian, Hassan Aqakarimi, Habib Ahmadzadeh, Mehrdad Sediqian, Baran Kowsari, and Mehdi Homayounfar, are now Academy members. The second edition of the Award will be held in Australia on November 11. Participating films should be introduced and sent to secretariat of the Award from June 1 to September 1 and nominees in every field will be introduced in early October. Mohammad Atebbaei, will be representing Iran in film selection board of the Award for the second straight year.