Georgia's Guria Wins Top Asia Pacific Film Prize

Levan Koguashvili’s film “Guria” took the top honor at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards on October 30. The ceremony took place at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Koguashvili shared the award with producers Olena Yershova and Boris Frumin. The movie was filmed in seven countries: Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.

Thai director Sompot Chidgasornpongse won the best director prize for “9 Temples to Heaven.” That film is a co-production involving Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Qatar. Myanmar’s Aung Phyoe received a special mention in the same category for “Fruit Gathering.” Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat won the Jury Grand Prize for “No Good Men.”

The competition included 36 nominated films from 32 countries and regions. Nepalese actor Pushpa Thing Lama won best performance for “Elephants in the Fog.” South Korea’s Sim Su-bin was named best new performer for “The World Before.” Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi, and Pôl Seif won the screenplay award for “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep.”

Vietnamese cinematographer Nguyễn Vinh Phúc won for his work on “Hearing.” New Zealand’s Paloma Schneideman took best youth film for “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” produced by Vicky Pope and Thomas Coppell. The animation prize went to “The Violinist,” a co-production between Singapore, Spain, and Italy. Ervin Han and Raúl García co-directed that film.

Itab Azzam and Jack MacInness won best documentary for “One in a Million.” The U.K.-U.S. film follows the life of a Syrian refugee. Isabelle Kalandar received the Cultural Diversity Award for directing and producing “Another Birth.” That project involved Tajikistan, the U.S., and Qatar. India’s R. Gowtham earned the Young Cinema Award for “Members of the Problematic Family.”

Malaysian filmmaker Haziqah Azemi won the Forum Filmmaker Award for her project “Garek.” The story centers on a woman facing religious persecution after becoming pregnant outside marriage. Azemi participated in the Griffith Film School and APSA Regional Reels program. She developed the project with mentoring from APSA Academy member Yulia Evina Bhara.

Bobby Bedi, a veteran Indian producer, received the FIAPF Award for outstanding contribution to film. Luis Alberto Scalella, president of FIAPF, noted that Bedi has championed powerful stories through landmark films like “Bandit Queen” and “Fire.” These works have resonated far beyond India.

The ceremony also announced five projects for the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Each project will receive a $10,000 grant funded by the Motion Picture Association. The recipients are Payal Kapadia’s “A Memory of Being Here” and Davy Chou’s “My Father’s Glory.” Taifeng Liu’s “A Place in the Sun” is also included. Nicole Midori Woodford’s “Incarnation” and Zhanana Kurmasheva’s “The Story of My Shirt” round out the list.

Three of the five funded projects are directed by women. Anthony Chen returns to the fund after his 2023 grant for “We Are All Strangers” became a nominee this year. Urmila Venugopalan, president and managing director of Asia Pacific at the Motion Picture Association, said supporting filmmakers early shows the importance of their stories. The APSA Academy now has more than 1,816 members across 84 countries and areas.