Expanding their reach beyond the borders of this big brown mysterious country, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) today announced the nine Asian films nominated for the inaugural AACTA Award for Best Asian Film.
The winner of the Award, determined by the Best Asian Film Grand Jury led by Oscar and multiple AFI and AACTA Award-winning actor Russell Crowe, will be announced in Sydney at the 7th AACTA Awards Ceremony presented by Foxtel on Wednesday 6 December 2017 at The Star Event Centre.
Highlights include some films that have already become popular at the Australian box office, including South Korea’s zombie film TRAIN TO BUSAN, the beautiful Japanese animated film YOUR NAME from Makoto Shinkai, and the massive Chinese action/propaganda film WOLF WARRIOR II.
With a long list of films from the Asian region released in Australia during the eligibility period, competition for a nomination was reportedly fierce. The long list of contenders was reviewed and judged by three Pre-Selection Committees made up of esteemed industry figures. Each of the committees assessed a specific region – China, India and another committee that encompassed South Korea, Japan and other Asian territories – in accordance with their knowledge and experience, determining three clear nominees from each of their allocated regions.
The full list of nominees are:
- BIRDSHOT (Philippines), Director: Mikhail Red
- DANGAL (India), Director: Nitesh Tiwari
- I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY (China), Director: Feng Xiaogang
- KAASAV: TURTLE (India), Directors: Sumitra Bhave, Sunil Sukthankar
- OUR TIME WILL COME (China), Director: Ann Hui
- PINK (India), Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
- TRAIN TO BUSAN (South Korea), Director: Yeon Sang-ho
- WOLF WARRIOR II (China), Director: Wu Jing
- YOUR NAME (Japan), Director: Makoto Shinkai
