Cannes

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) has announced the formation of an international coalition of three film Academies: the Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA), the European Film Academy (EFA), and the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA|AFI).

Members from this foundation of academies will have the opportunity to share valuable experience, knowledge and collaborate on international projects.

Academy members from the EFA and AACTA have been named as part of the 2012 APSA Jury. The three Jury members announced at the Cannes reception earlier today are actress Maria De Medeiros (EFA member), known among other achievements, for her role as Bruce Willis' girlfriend in Pulp Fiction; APSA winning producer, Zeynep Özbatur Atakan (EFA and APSA academy member); and 2011 APSA best actor nominee Sasson Gabay (EFA and APSA academy member) currently one of the most prolific and highly respected actors working in Israeli cinema.

Now in its sixth year, the APSA ceremony, or APSAs as it has become known, has become a major event on the Asia Pacific film industry calendar. Seventy (70) countries are eligible to submit films for the competition. In recent years more than forty (40) countries have had their films in selection.

The 2012 APSA International Jury will meet to deliberate in late November ahead of the APSA Ceremony in Brisbane, Queensland, on November 23, 2012.

The Cannes international launch was attended by more than 150 guests including high profile filmmakers of the region, APSA Patron and founding director of Busan International Film Festival Kim Dong-ho; FIAPF President Luis Alberto Scalella; representatives from APSA's official submitting organisations across the region and many directors of the world's leading film industries. Australians in attendance included: Australian Ambassador to France H.E Ric Wells, who addressed the reception and announced a member of the 2012 APSA Jury.

APSA celebrates the cinematic excellence and cultural origins of 70 countries and areas - a region responsible for half the world's film output. Visit: www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com