Khazakhstan's Tulpan Best Film at Gold Coast APSA 2008

Cynthia Webb ,  Contributor ,  Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia   |  Sun, 11/16/2008 10:28 AM  |  Entertainment

Renowned director Bruce Beresford, head of the international jury at this year's Asia Pacific Screen Awards (ASPA) said,"I am aware that there are a lot of countries around the world making films that I am not going to see. For example, I have not seen films from Khazakhstan before, and not many from Turkey. We must do everything we can to get these films into commercial cinemas."

Both Khazakhstan and Turkey received APSA's top awards at a glittering event on Queensland's Gold Coast on November 11.

APSA was established to celebrate the cultural diversity and richness of cinema produced throughout Asia.

This year the number of films submitted was double that of 2007, showing growing support for this cultural initiative and the Asian film industry on the whole. One hundred and eighty films from 43 countries were entered in the event, which has earned high praise from UNESCO and is fully accredited with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

The Asia-Pacific region produces half of the world's films, but besides those entered in European film festivals, or those accepted as nominees for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, most are never seen outside their own country. APSA offers a platform and opportunity for the region's top filmmakers to share their work with the world and make a name for themselves in the industry.

At the event, Peter Thompson, a leading Australian film critic, said the spirit of APSA was inclusive.

"It is not really about who wins the awards. APSA is about celebrating cinema across our region. Holding such an event to showcase the films requires structure.

"Many of the films could have been named as Best Feature Film, or slotted into other categories. This is one reason the jury have the option of awarding two films one award if necessary," Thompson said.

Indonesia submitted several films but only one made it through the nominations process -- Erros Djarot and Gotot Prakosa's Kantata Takwa.

Kantata Takwa, the name of a rock band, is an unusual film and according to Head of Nominations Council Kim Hong-Joon there was some deliberation about which category it should be placed in.

Eventually they decided it was a documentary about a time in Indonesia's history, and decided based on that criteria which category it should go in.

Kantata Takwa was filmed in 1991 and has been in storage in Gotot Prakosa's house ever since, awaiting the moment when sufficient funding would enable its completion and release as a film.

It documents the concerts presented by Iwan Fals, Sawung Jabo, Setiawan Djody and Jockie Soeryoprayogo protesting against the New Order government's use of Islamic rock music. The concept of the film came from poet W.S. Rendra, who appears in the film symbolically representing the collective soul of humanity.

Gotot Prakosa quoted Iwan Fals saying, "I not only want to make music for Kantata Takwa. I want to make music for mankind too."

At their first concert at Senayan Stadium in Jakarta, around 700,000 people attended, along with about 200 battalions of soldiers. Shows in Surabaya and Solo followed.

Kantata Takwa has also been shown at the OSIAN (India), Bangkok and Hawaii Film Festivals, and it recently screened at Blitz Megaplex cinemas in Jakarta for a month.

Last year the Indonesian film, Denias Singing on the Cloud won the award for Best Children's Feature Film.

This time an Australian film, The Black Balloon directed by Elissa Down, took the award. It is the emotional story of the love and support a family brings together for their son and brother living with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder).

Summing up his duties as juror, Beresford could only say,"I cannot tell you how tough this decision was."

 

The other major awards went to...

-Best Animated Feature Film -- Waltz With Bashir, from Israel, is the story of a young man psychologically affected by his experiences of war and his efforts to reconcile his nightmares with reality. -Best Documentary Feature Film -- 63 Years On from Korea, which records the personal stories of women who were forced to become "comfort women" (sex-slaves) for Japanese soldiers during World War II, in Indonesia, China, and Korea.

The producer of the film, Kim Dong-Won said following international pressure to apologize to these women, the Japanese Government took out an advertisement in the Washington Post saying there was no evidence to support the claims of these women, (whom Kim referred to as "grandmothers"), and that "comfort-women" were prostitutes, or women of dubious morals. -Best Screenplay -- won by Suha Arraf from Israel, for her script The Lemon Tree. This story poignantly and perfectly encapsulates the lemon-like bitterness and agony of the long term Palestine/Israel conflict. -Best Achievement in Cinematography -- won by Lee Mogae of Republic of Korea, for his spectacular work in The Good, the Bad and the Weird, a movie in the style of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. -Best Actress -- won by Hiam Abbass, for her role in The Lemon Tree. It's a restrained and dignified performance by this wonderful actress who stars in the American film, The Visitor screening at the moment. -Best Actor -- won by Reza Naji of Iran, for The Song of Sparrows. Directed by Academy Award nominee Majid Majidi, the film tells the story of the tenacious Karim and the daily struggles and joys of his family. Reza Naji began in theatre and has appeared in fifty feature films, including the internationally renowned Children of Heaven. -Best Director -- won by Nuri Bilge Ceylan of Turkey, for Three Monkeys, which explores the lives of three family members when their psychological states escalate to dangerous levels of denial. The plot centers around the husband, who consents to a financial deal in which he takes the blame and jail sentence after his boss is involved in a hit and run accident. -Best Feature Film -- Tulpan from Khazakhstan, directed by Sergei Dvortsevoy. Shot in a dangerous, freezing and remote location, this film is delightful and about the attempts of a young man to win the affection of Tulpan, the only available girl in the village.

The Jury's Grand Prize went to two films: The Red Awn (directed by Cai Shangjun) from China and India's The Prisoner, the first film produced and directed by Pryas Gupta.

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