The Asia Pacific Screen Academy has revealed that the top nominees for the 18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) include Garin Nugroho’s Samsara, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, and Lav Diaz’s Magellan.
Indonesian drama “Samsara” leads with three nominations, followed by “It Was Just an Accident” (Iran, France, Luxembourg) and “Magellan” (Portugal, Spain, France, Philippines, Taiwan) with two nominations each. Tsai Shangjun’s The Sun Rises (China) and Miyake Sho’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers (Japan) round out the best film category, receiving two nominations each.
These five films will compete in additional categories such as Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Acting. “Younan” (Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) also received multiple nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Acting.
A notable trend is that 48% of nominated directors screened only their first or second feature, highlighting the award’s role in bringing new talent to the world from the region. The Best Animated Film category is particularly noteworthy, with all nominated directors making their directorial debuts.
“With nearly half of the nominated films being debuts, 2025 will be a year in which new voices emerge from diverse regions and prove their vitality and innovation,” said Tracy Vieira, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The ceremony will be held on November 27th at The Langham and Jewel Private Residences on the Gold Coast in partnership with strategic sponsor Jewel Private Residences. The event will be held in parallel with the 7th Asia-Pacific Screen Forum, scheduled for November 24th to 27th, with the theme “Beyond Borders.”
The forum will focus on five key areas: transcending boundaries through innovative collaboration, building cultural bridges, self-empowerment in a divided world, innovating beyond convention, and transforming vision into reality. The program will include an initiative led by women in Australian Film & Television called ‘Post Code Doesn’t Matter’, sessions on development and entering new markets, and country roundtable discussions.
“It’s an exciting time for the Gold Coast to host this important event, seeing filmmakers from across the Asia-Pacific region come in with projects and leave with pathways,” Vieira added.
The event is sponsored by key partners including the City of Gold Coast, Screen Queensland, Asia Pacific Film Institute, Langham Gold Coast and Post Lounge Group.
APSA represents 78 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region.
complete list of candidates
Best movie award
“It was just an accident” – Islamic Republic of Iran, France, Luxembourg. Directed by Jafar Panahi
“Magellan” – Portugal, Spain, France, Philippines, Taiwan. Films directed by Lav Diaz
“Samsara” – Indonesia. Directed by Garin Nugroho
“The sun rises above us all”—People’s Republic of China. Works directed by Tsai Shangjun
“Two Seasons, Two Strangers” — Japan. Director Sho Miyake
Best Director Award
Amir Azizi “Inside Amir” — Islamic Republic of Iran
Jafar Panahi: “It was just an accident” — Islamic Republic of Iran, France, Luxembourg
Akio Fujimoto “Lost Land” — Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany
Garin Nugroho “Samsara” — Indonesia
Sengedorj Janchivdorj “Silent City Driver” — Mongolia
Best Screenplay Award
Shu Qi “Girl” – Taiwan
Nawapol Tamrongrattanarit “Human Resources” Department — Thailand
Annemarie Jacir “Palestine 36” — Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
Chie Hayakawa “Renoir” — Japan, France, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Qatar
Kauser Ben Hania “The Voice of Hind Rajab” — Tunisia, France
best performance
Hylia Natomy “Hijra” — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, United Kingdom
Sean Lau “Papa” — Hong Kong
Xin Zhilei “The Sun Rises on Us All” — People’s Republic of China
Ariel Bronze “Yes” — France, Israel, Cyprus, Germany
Georges Habaz “Younan” — Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
Best youth movie
“Amoeba” — Singapore, Netherlands, France, Spain, South Korea. Directed by Tan Siyu
“Before a bright day” – Taiwan. Directed by Cao Shihan
“President’s Cake” – Iraq, USA, Qatar. Directed by Hasan Hadi
“Village Rockstars 2” — India, Singapore, and People’s Republic of China. Directed by Rima Das
“World of Love” — Republic of Korea. Director Yoon Ga-eun
Best Animated Film Award
“Another world” – Hong Kong. Director: Tommy Ng Kai Chong
“ChaO” — Japan. Director: Yasuhiro Aoki
“The Lost Tiger” – Australia. Directed by Chantel Murray
“The Square” — Republic of Korea. Director Kim Bosol
“A Story About Fire” – People’s Republic of China. Directed by Li Wenyu
Best Documentary Film Award
“The decade that crossed borders” — the Philippines, Singapore, and Germany. Directed by Zhang Zewei
“Always” — United States, France, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan. Works directed by Deming Cheng
“Walk with your soul in your hands” – France, Palestine. Directed by Sepideh Farsi
“We live here” – Kazakhstan. Works directed by Zanana Kurmasheva
“Writing Hawa” — France, Netherlands, Qatar, Afghanistan. Directed by Najiba Nouri
Best Cinematography Award
Arthur Tort, Lav Díaz “Magellan” — Portugal, Spain, France, Philippines, Taiwan
Prabhas Roshan “Riverstone” — Sri Lanka
Batala Gompal from “Samsara” — Indonesia
Yuta Tsukinaga “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” — Japan
Ronald Plante “Yunan” — Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
