Australia
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2026 Announces Winners Across Film Categories: The 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) announced its 2026 winners at a ceremony held on October 30 at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The awards recognised films and filmmakers from across the Asia Pacific region in categories covering feature films, direction, acting, screenwriting, cinematography, animation and documentary filmmaking.
Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili’s Guria received the Best Film award. The film, a comedy set in a village in western Georgia during the early 1990s, follows a hazelnut farmer dealing with financial difficulties and searching for love. Its production involved partners from Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Norway and Saudi Arabia.
Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat received the Jury Grand Prize for No Good Men. The film was also selected as the opening feature of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival.
Thailand’s Sompot Chidgasornpongse won Best Director for 9 Temples to Heaven. Myanmar filmmaker Aung Phyoe received a Special Mention in the directing category for Fruit Gathering.
2026 Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Winners
| Category | Winner / Film |
|---|---|
| Best Film | Guria – Levan Koguashvili |
| Jury Grand Prize | No Good Men – Shahrbanoo Sadat |
| Best Director | 9 Temples to Heaven – Sompot Chidgasornpongse |
| Best Director – Special Mention | Fruit Gathering – Aung Phyoe |
| Best Youth Film | Big Girls Don’t Cry |
| Best Animated Film | The Violinist |
| Best Documentary Film | One in a Million |
| Best Screenplay | Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep – Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi and Pôl Seif |
| Best Cinematography | Hearing – Nguyễn Vinh Phúc |
| Best Performance | Elephants in the Fog – Pushpa Thing Lama |
| Best New Performer | The World Before – Sim Su-Bin |
| Cultural Diversity Award | Another Birth – Isabelle Kalandar |
| Young Cinema Award | Members of the Problematic Family – R Gowtham |
| FIAPF Award | Bobby Bedi |
| Forum Filmmaker Award | Garek – Haziqah Azemi |
Indian Filmmakers Among the Award Recipients
Indian filmmaker R Gowtham received the Young Cinema Award for Members of the Problematic Family. The award recognises emerging filmmakers and is presented in association with the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema (NETPAC).
Indian film producer Bobby Bedi received the FIAPF Award. Bedi has been associated with films including Bandit Queen and Fire.
Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia and producer Thomas Hakim were also selected for the 2026 Motion Picture Association (MPA) APSA Academy Film Fund for their project A Memory of Being Here.
Other Award-Winning Productions
New Zealand’s Big Girls Don’t Cry, directed by Paloma Schneideman, received the Best Youth Film award.
The Best Animated Film award went to The Violinist, co-directed by Ervin Han of Singapore and Raúl García of Spain. The film involved production partners from Singapore, Spain and Italy.
One in a Million, directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInness, received the Best Documentary Film award. The UK-US production follows the life of a Syrian refugee.
Nepalese actor Pushpa Thing Lama received Best Performance for Elephants in the Fog, while South Korean performer Sim Su-Bin received Best New Performer for The World Before.
Vietnamese cinematographer Nguyễn Vinh Phúc received the Best Cinematography award for Hearing.
The Best Screenplay award went to Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi and Pôl Seif for Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep, a production involving Belgium, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Isabelle Kalandar received the Cultural Diversity Award for Another Birth, a production involving Tajikistan, the United States and Qatar. Malaysian filmmaker Haziqah Azemi received the Forum Filmmaker Award for Garek.
Five Projects Selected for Film Development Grants
The 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund selected five projects to receive grants of US$10,000 each.
The recipients were:
- A Memory of Being Here – Director Payal Kapadia and producer Thomas Hakim (India).
- My Father’s Glory – Director Davy Chou and producer Charlotte Vincent (Cambodia and France).
- A Place in the Sun – Director Taifeng Liu and producer Janet (Yan Yan) Wu (China).
- Incarnation – Director Nicole Midori Woodford and producer Anthony Chen.
- The Story of My Shirt – Filmmaker Zhanana Kurmasheva and producer Banu Ramazanova.
The fund supports the development of feature films and documentary projects from filmmakers connected to the Asia Pacific region. Three of the five selected projects are directed by women.
About the Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards recognise films and filmmakers from the Asia Pacific region. The awards cover a range of cinematic disciplines and provide a platform for productions from different countries and filmmaking traditions.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy includes nominees, winners, jurors and panellists from previous awards editions. According to the organisation, its membership includes more than 1,800 members across 84 countries and areas.
The 2026 awards programme included recognition for established filmmakers, emerging talent and projects at the development stage, alongside the presentation of awards across multiple film categories.
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