Turkey's 'Beyond The Hill' Leads Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations

SYDNEY - Films from Iran, the Russian Federation, Hong Kong, Korea and Turkey are vying for the best feature film award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in November.

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Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardi): Berlin Film Review

Turkish first time writer-director Emin Alper’s Beyond the Hill, winner of the Caligari prize at the Berlinale in 2012, leads the pack with nominations in three categories including best feature, best Screenplay and best actor (Tamer Levent).

The four other films nominated for best feature include Shanghai Golden Goblet winner Bear (Khers, Iran), epic historical drama, The Horde (Orda , Russian Federation), Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng, Republic of Korea) and Wu Xia (Hong Kong (PRC)).

They each received an additional nomination: Khosro Masoumi was nominated for achievement in directing for Iran’s  Bear; The Horde and Wu Xia were both nominated for  achievement in cinematography  and Choi Min-sik in Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time joined Tamer Levant in the best actor category.

Writer/directors who have received nominations for both achievement in directing and best screenplay are Cheng Er for Lethal Hostage (People’s Republic of China), and Reis Çelik for Night of Silence ( Lal gece, Turkey).

Also receiving a nomination for achievement in directing was Brillante Ma. Mendoza for Thy Womb (Sinapupunan, Philippines), with lead actress Nora Aunor nominated for best actress for her role.

APSA Academy member Anurag Kashyap was  nominated for achievement in directing for Indian epic Gangs of Wasseypur. Lead actor in the film, Manoj Bajpayee, is nominated for best  actor.

Bol (Pakistan) received two nominations – best screenplay for Shoaib Mansoor and best actress for Humaima Malick.

The fifth nominee in the best screenplay category is Chris Martinez for The Woman in the Septic Tank (Ang Babae sa Septic Tan,  Philippines).

Bahman Ghobadi’s Rhino Season, (Fasle Kargadan, Iraqi-Kurdistan, Turkey) received a nomination for achievement in cinematography for Touraj Aslani, as did  Charin Pengpanich for Bunohan; Return to Murder, (Malaysia), Malaysia’s official film submission to the 85th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film category, and Chin Ting-Chang for Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, (Taiwan).

Other  nominees in the best actor category are Lior Ashkenazi for Oscar-nominated feature Footnote (Hearat shulayim, Israel) and Wu Tianming, for Full Circle (People’s Republic of China).

For best actress, in addition to Humaima Malik and Nora Aunor, the nominees are Vidya Balan for The Dirty Picture (India), Darya Ekamasova for Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman, (Zila bila odna baba, Russian Federation) and Cho Min-soo for Kim Ki-duk’s 2012 Venice Golden Lion-winner Pieta (Republic of Korea).

Now in their sixth  year, the APSAs will have films from a total of 18 of 70 eligible countries competing for prizes, shortlisted from a record 264 films entered. Seven of the 2012 nominees are members of the expanding APSA Academy, which  is made up of previous award nominees.

A six-member International Jury headed by Australian producer Jan Chapman will select the winner of Best Feature Film as well as winners of the five other major awards and the Jury Grand Prize and the UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film. APSA Academy members will determine the winners in the Best Children’s, Documentary and Animated Feature Film categories.

Films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins.

Other members of the 2012 APSA Jury include: Indian writer, director, editor and producer Leena Yadav, writer, producer, director and European Film Academy member George Ovashvili from Georgia, Professor of thedirecting department of the Beijing Film Academy and the President of the China International Children’s Film Festival, Professor Hou Keming (People’s Republic of China); Israeli actor cinema Sasson Gabbay and APSA winning producer Zeynep Özbatur Atakan (Turkey)

APSA Patron and founder and honorary festival director of the Busan International Film Festival Kim Dong-Ho said, “The Asia Pacific Screen Awards have emerged as a driving force in the support and promotion of the region’s filmmakers. The APSA Academy … now counts among its members a diverse and talented group of acclaimed filmmakers that represent not only the quality of filmmaking in the region but also the many cultures that make up our large and varied Asia Pacific region."

“As we further enter what is becoming ever more widely considered the Asia Pacific century, it is only fitting to see such a blossoming academy of filmmakers, akin to those in other areas of the world, such as the European Film Academy with whom APSA has a special relationship. This year’s nominees are an outstanding representation of filmmakers from Asia Pacific and I am personally delighted to see Korean nominees in so many categories,” he added.

The winners of the 2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards will be named at a ceremony on Nov. 23 in Brisbane, Australia.

The full list of nominees for the 2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards are;

BEST FEATURE FILM

Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng (Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time)
Republic of Korea
Produced by Park Shin-kyu, Han Jae-duk;

Khers (Bear)
Islamic Republic of Iran
Produced by Javad Norouzbeigi;

Orda (The Horde)
Russian Federation
Produced by Natalya Gostyushina, Sergei Kravets;

Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill)
Turkey, Greece
Produced by Enis Köstepen, Seyfi Teoman, Emin Alper
Co-Produced by Nikos Moutselos;

Wu Xia
Hong Kong (PRC), People's Republic of China
Produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan, Jojo Hui Yuet-chun
Co-Produced by Lu York, Dong Keyan, Hong Tao, Jiang Wenbo.

BEST CHILDREN’S FEATURE FILM

Australia Sheli (My Australia)
Poland, Israel
Produced by Marek Rozenbaum, Itai Tamir, Dariusz Jablonski, Violetta Kaminska, Izabela Wojcikl;

Gattu
India
Produced by Dr. Shravan Kumar (Children's Film Society of India);

Kiseki (I Wish)
Japan
Produced by Kentaro Koike, Hijiri Taguchi
Co-Produced by Satomi Odake;

Laut Bercermin (The Mirror Never Lies)
Indonesia
Produced by Garin Nugroho, Nadine Chandrawinata;

Orchim Lerega (Off White Lies)
Israel
Produced by Aurit Zamir, Yoav Roeh
Co-Produced by Janja Kralj

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

Hams Caeraten Maksura / Hamesh Matzlemot Shvurot (Five Broken Cameras)
Israel, Palestine, France
Produced by Christine Camdessus, Serge Gordey, Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi;

In My Mother's Arms
Iraq, UK, Netherlands
Produced by Isabelle Stead, Atia Jabarah Al-Daradji, Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji’

Negeri di Bawah Kabut (The Land Beneath the Fog)
Indonesia, Germany
Produced by Shalahuddin Siregar’

Planet of Snail
Republic of Korea, Japan, Finland
Produced by Kim Min-chul, Gary Kam
Co-Produced by Janne Niskala, Imamura Ken-ichi;

Shiton Hachok (The Law in These Parts)
Israel, USA, Germany
Produced by Liran Atzmor
Co-Produced by BZ Goldberg, Laura Poitras, Martin Hagemann.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Happy Feet Two
Australia, USA
Produced by Doug Mitchell, George Miller, Bill Miller
Co-Produced by Martin Wood;

Kokurikozaka Kara (From Up on Poppy Hill)
Japan
Produced by Toshio Suzuki;

Momo e no tegami (A Letter to Momo)
Japan
Produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Hiroyuki Ikeda, Shigeru Watanabe, Kazuya Hamana;

Nijiiro Hotaru (Rainbow Fireflies)
Japan
Produced by Atsutoshi Umezawa;

Ookamikodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children)
Japan
Produced by Yuichiro Saito, Takuya Ito, Takashi Watanabe.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Anurag Kashyap for Gangs of Wasseypur
India;

Brillante Ma. Mendoza for Sinapupunan (Thy Womb)
Philippines;

Cheng Er for Lethal Hostage
People’s Republic of China;

Khosro Masoumi for Khers (Bear)
Islamic Republic of Iran;

Reis Çelik for Lal gece (Night of Silence)
Turkey.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Cheng Er for Lethal Hostage
People’s Republic of China;

Chris Martinez for Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank)
Philippines;

Emin Alper for Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill)
Turkey, Greece;

Reis Çelik for Lal gece (Night of Silence)
Turkey;

Shoaib Mansoor for Bol
Pakistan

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Charin Pengpanich for Bunohan (Bunohan: Return to Murder)
Malaysia;

Chin Ting-Chang for Seediq Bale (Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale)
Taiwan;

Jake Pollock and Lai Yiu-fai for Wu Xia
Hong Kong (PRC), People’s Republic of China;

Touraj Aslanif or Fasle Kargadan (Rhino Season)
Iraqi-Kurdistan,Turkey;

Yury Raysky for Orda (The Horde)
Russian Federation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR

Choi Min-sik for Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng (Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time)
Republic of Korea;

Lior Ashkenazi for Hearat shulayim (Footnote)
Israel;

Manoj Bajpayee for Gangs of Wasseypur
India;

Tamer Levent for Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill)
Turkey, Greece;

Wu Tianming for Full Circle
People’s Republic of China

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS

Cho Min-soo for Pieta
Republic of Korea;

Darya Ekamasova for Zila bila odna baba (Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman)
Russian Federation;

Humaima Malick for Bol
Pakistan;

Nora Aunor for Sinapupunan (Thy Womb)
Philippines;

Vidya Balan for The Dirty Picture
India

Two additional awards will be presented at the ceremony: The FIAPF Award outstanding achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region and the UNESCO Award: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film.