RULE OF LAW
Director Clara Law (“The Goddess of 1967”) has been set as president of the jury which will discern this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She will be joined by Malaysia’s Yeo Yann Yann (“Ilo Ilo,” “Wet Season,” American Born Chinese”), German producer Anna Katchko (“Stepne,” “Happiness”), and Faisal Baltyuor, producer and CEO of Muvi Studios in Saudi Arabia.
A separate jury for documentaries and animation will be headed by Taiwan-based Myanmar director Midi Z, India’s Rima Das and Japanese documentary maker Toda Hikaru.
The APSAs will be presented at a ceremony in Gold Coast, Queensland on Nov. 4 and be preceded by three days of seminars and screenings. The awards and forum are presented by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, the City of Gold Coast, Screen Queensland, the Motion Picture Association and Griffith Film School, Griffith University. Nominations will be announced on Oct. 4.
Law, who has previously been based in Hong Kong and Macau, but now calls Australia home, is best known for “Floating Life and “Letters to Ali”. Her most recently competed work is “Drifting Petals.”
NATIonAL CINEMA DAY INDIA
After a successful 2022 edition the Multiplex Association of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry are bringing National Cinema Day back across Indian cinemas. The 2022 event saw the highest ever single day admissions of 6.5 million. It will take place this year on Oct. 13 and tickets will be priced at INR99 ($1.19). Some 4000 screens across the PVR Inox, Cinepolis, Miraj, Citypride, Asian, Mukta A2, Movie Time, Wave, M2K and Delite chains will participate.
BRAND AMBASSADOR
“Veere Di Wedding” actor Sonam Kapoor returns as the brand ambassador for the Word to Screen book option market at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (Oct. 27-Nov. 5). Books that have been optioned at previous editions of the market include “Bhujia Barons” by Pavitra Kumar, “Indira” by Sagarika Ghose, the “Inspector Saralkar” series by Salil Desai, “Strangers to Ourselves” by Shashi Deshpande, “The Ivory Throne” by Manu S. Pillai, “The Spectacular Miss” by Sonia Bahl, “How I Became a Farmer’s Wife” by Yashodhara Lal and “Cold Truth” by Nikhil Pradhan.
Kapoor said: “I would urge publishers, writers, and creators to make the most of this platform. I am excited to discuss the power of the story in cinema with authors and filmmakers at the event, exchange ideas, and hopefully be a catalyst to contribute to our industry that has given me so much.”
MAMA TOKYO
K-Pop’s annual MAMA Awards will relocate to the Tokyo Dome, the 50-000 seater venue in the Japanese capital after last year being held in Osaka. Operated by Korea’s CJ ENM, the awards will be presented on Nov. 29.
“MAMA Awards is a ceremony that acknowledges the most outstanding K-Pop artists as chosen by global fans, and it will continue to serve as a platform where countless music fans can engage and unite as one, transcending regions, backgrounds, and generations. We aim to spread the value of our statement ‘Music Makes One’ by embodying spectacular potential, boundless imagination, and positive energy,” said Sim Joon-beom, head of music entertainment at CJ ENM.
FIRST NATIONS FINANCE
Screen Australia’s First Nations Department and Network 10 have selected six projects to receive up to A$70,000 ($45,000) of production funding through the First Facts: First Nations Factual Showcase for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander documentary filmmakers. They are: “Anangu Way,” written and directed by Tace Stevens (“Limbo,”“To Be Silent”), with Brooke Collard attached as producer; “Burabura,” written and directed by Tyson Mowarin and produced by Robyn Marais; “Firekeepers Flames of Renewal: Fighting for Cultural Survival,” written and directed by Jack Steele, with Kieran Satour (“Through The Fire”), Genevieve Grieves and Andrea Distefano attached as producers; “Joonba,” with Marlikka Perdrisat (“Babanil”) attached as writer/director/producer, with Anna Kaplan and Jayde Harding also producing and Damon Gameau (“Rachel’s Farm”) executive producing; documentary, “Life After Footy,” from writer-director/producers Daniel and Luke Riches (“KGB,”“Struggling Songlines”) and producer Jodie Bell (“The Lost Crystal of Jessica’s Room”); and “Re-Imagining Our Futures,” from writer-director Kimberley Benjamin (“Back to Nature”) and producer Shari Hutchison (“Tee Ken Ng”).
