Meet the APSA 2023 Nominees! 

We are thrilled to introduce you to the incredible talent and outstanding films that have secured their place as nominees for the 16th Annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards!

These nominees have captured hearts and minds with their exceptional storytelling, cinematic brilliance, and dedication to their craft. From gripping narratives to breathtaking visuals, their work represents the very best of cinema from the Asia Pacific region.

See below for the full list of nominees, and mark your calendars for the Awards Ceremony on November 3, 2023, where we will celebrate their achievements and the power of cinema to inspire and unite us all.

Citizen Saint (Mokalake Tsmindani)
Georgia, France, Bulgaria 
Directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili  
Produced by Lasha Khalvashi, Tinatin Kajrishvili

Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai)
Japan
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi  
Produced by Satoshi Takata  

Perfect Days  
Japan 
Directed by Wim Wenders  
Produced by Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki, Koji Yanai 

Qas  
Kazakhstan 
Directed by Aisultan Seit  
Produced by Yerkebulan Kurishbayev, Yuliya Kim, Eugenia Moreva 

Snow Leopard (Xue bao) 
People’s Republic of China 
Directed by Pema Tseden 
Produced by Wang Lei

Bauryna Salu 
Kazakhstan 
Directed by Askhat Kuchinchirekov 
Produced by Askhat Kuchinchirekov, Anna Katchko 

Blueback  
Australia 
Directed by Robert Connolly 
Produced by James Grandison, Robert Connolly, Liz Kearney 

A House in Jerusalem  
Palestine, United Kingdom, Qatar, Netherlands, Germany  
Directed by Muayad Alayan 
Produced by Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan, Abeer Salman, Rachel Robey, Alastair Clark, Dorothe Beinemeier, Hanneke Neins, Giorgos Karnavas 

Monster (Kaibutsu) 
Japan 
Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu 
Produced by Genki Kawamura, Kenji Yamada 

Tiger Stripes 
Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar 
Directed by Amanda Nell Eu 
Produced by Foo Fei Ling, Patrick Mao Huang, Fran Borgia, Juliette Lepoutre, Pierre Menahem, Jonas Weydemann, Ellen Havenith, Yulia Evina Bhara 

Deep Sea (Shen hai) 
People’s Republic of China 
Directed by Tian Xiaopeng 
Produced by Qiao Yi 

The First Slam Dunk  
Japan 
Directed by Takehiko Inoue 
Produced by Toshiyuki Matsui 

Scarygirl  
Australia 
Directed by Ricard Cussó  
Co-Directed by Tania Vincent 
Produced by Sophie Byrne, Kristen Souvlis, Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves 

The Siren (La Sirène) 
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium 
Directed by Sepideh Farsi 
Produced by Sébastien Onomo 

Suzume (Suzume no Tojimari) 
Japan 
Directed by Makoto Shinkai 
Produced by Noritaka Kawaguchi, Genki Kawamura, Yoshihiro Furusawa, Tomohiro Tokunaga

Against the Tide 
India, France 
Directed by Sarvnik Kaur 
Produced by Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur 
 
Beyond Utopia 
United States 
Directed by Madeleine Gavin 
Produced by Jana Edelbaum, Rachel Cohen, Sue Mi Terry 
 
Man in Black 
France, United States, United Kingdom 
Directed by Wang Bing 
Produced by K Lihong, Sonia Buchman, Nicholas R de la Mothe 
 
Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV 
United States, Republic of Korea 
Directed by Amanda Kim 
Produced by Jennifer Stockman, David Koh, Amanda Kim, Amy Hobby, Jesse Wann, Mariko Munro 
 
To Kill a Tiger 
Canada 
Directed by Nisha Pahuja 
Produced by Cornelia Principe, Nisha Pahuja, David Oppenheim 

Celine Song for Past Lives 
Republic of Korea, United States 
 
Darkhan Tulegenov for Brothers (Bratya) 
Kazakhstan    
 
Liang Ming for Carefree Days (Xiao yao you) 
People’s Republic of China  
 
Rima Das for Tora’s Husband 
India 
 
Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai) 
Japan 

Anthony Shim for Riceboy Sleeps  
Canada, Republic of Korea  
 
Liang Ming for Carefree Days (Xiao yao you) 
People’s Republic of China  
 
Nicole Midori Woodford for Last Shadow at First Light  
Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, Philippines, Indonesia 
 
Pema Tseden for Snow Leopard (Xue bao) 
People’s Republic of China 
 
Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai) 
Japan

Azamat Dulatov for Qas  
Kazakhstan 
 
Hao Jiayue for A Song Sung Blue 
People’s Republic of China 
 
Kenneth Cyrus for Whispers of Fire & Water  
India  
 
Krum Rodriguez for Citizen Saint (Mokalake Tsmindani) 
Georgia, France, Bulgaria  
 
Yoshio Kitagawa for Evil Does Not Exist (Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai) 
Japan 

Koji Yakusho for Perfect Days  
Japan 
 
Jinpa for Snow Leopard (Xue bao) 
People’s Republic of China 
 
Mihaya Shirata for Last Shadow at First Light  
Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, Philippines, Indonesia 
 
Mouna Hawa for Inshallah a Boy (Inshallah Walad) 
Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar  
 
Zhou Dongyu for The Breaking Ice (Ran dong)  
People’s Republic of China 

Rapture (Rimdogittanga) 
India, People's Republic of China, Qatar, Switzerland, Netherlands 
Directed by Dominic Megam Sangma 
Produced by Xu Jianshang, Eva Gunme R Marak, Anu Rangachar, Sun Li, Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover, Stephen Zacharias 

Phạm Thiên  Ân for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng) 
Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain 

Congratulations to this year's nominees! We announce the winners at the Awards Ceremony on November 3, 2023 at HOTA, Gold Coast. Tickets on sale here. 
 

SHARE THE LOVE! If you want to post on your socials congratulating this years nominees the APSA team have prepared some content to make it easier to get these films the recognition they truly deserve! Don't forget to tag APSA and #APSA23.
 

Thank you to all the films that have submitted this year!

Stay tuned for information on the Asia Pacific Screen Forum soon.

The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.