In the News: 2009

Our favourite elephant walks off with the animation award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival

Source - The Nation Website (Eng) - DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR
December 22, 2009

THE ASIA-PACIFIC'S BEST FLICKS OF 2009

With Bollywood song and dance, the Asia Pacific Film Festival was revived in Taiwan on Saturday following a two-year hiatus caused by money problems. The 53rd Asia Pacific Film Festival attracted 58 movies from 14 member nations and territories.

The cheerful elephant of "Khan Kluay II: Story of the Noble Warrior" earned its Thai creators the Best Animation trophy.

Some 500 delegates from as far away as Iran, Kuwait, Burma and Russia took part in the awards ceremony at the I-Sho University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. China sent an observer delegation and has applied for membership.

Despite the cold weather, Azharuddin Ismail Shaikh and Rubina Qureishi - the two child stars of the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" - performed an Indian song and dance, accompanied by eight young Taiwanese dancers. Qureishi said she was still not used to being stared at on the street. Shaikh said his goal is to become a "fighting actor" and showed off some kung-fu kicks. "The Rainbow Troops", an Indonesian movie about the survival of a tiny Muslim school on an island, won the Best Film award. Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung ("The Beast Stalker") was named Best Actor and Taiwanese-French actress Sandrine Pinna ("Yang Yang") was named best Actress.

The festival, launched in 1954, is held annually in an Asian country chosen by the directors of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific, but it was suspended for the past two years due to financial problems.

The winners this year are:
- Best Film: "The Rainbow Troops"
- Best Director: Leon Dai for "No Peudo Vivir Sin Ti" (Taiwan)
- Best Actor: Nick Cheung for "The Beast Stalker"
- Best Actress: Dandrine Pinna for "Yang Yang" (Taiwan)
- Best Supporting Actor: Cheng Xu Hui for "Money No Enough II" (Singapore)
- Best Supporting Actress: Widyawati Sophiaan for "Woman with a Turban"
(Indonesia)
- Best Screenplay: "Accident" (Hong Kong)
- Best Cinematography: "No Peudo Vivir Sin Ti"
- Best Editing: "Dev D" (India)
- Best Music: "Adrift" (Vietnam)
- Best Sound: "Jamila and the President" (Indonesia)
- Best Documentary: "Baseball Boys" (Taiwan)
- Best Animation: "Khan Kluay II: Story of the Nobel Warrior" (Thailand)
- Best Short Film: "Hopscotch" (Taiwan)
- Outstanding Achievement: Hong Kong director John Woo
- Special Contribution: Indonesian director Raam Punjabi