China’s Zhang Yimou to receive FIAPF Award

The Chinese director will be presented with the award at the fifth Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony on Australia’s Gold Coast on November 24.

Zhang Yimou began work as a cinematographer on Chen Kaige’s Yellow Earth, before going on to make his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

In 1990, Zhang’s film Ju Dou became China’s first Academy Awards nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. His next film, Raise the Red Lantern, was nominated the year after.

The Story of Qiu Ju won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and To Live won the Jury’s Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

Zhang Yimou headed the jury at Venice International Film Festival in 2007 and served as jury member at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival.

His current project, The Flowers of War, stars Christian Bale and Shigeo Kobayash and is China’s official entry for the foreign language Oscar. It is due to be released in China in December.

He was also responsible for the creative side of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and coordinated the celebrations for China’s 60th anniversary in 2009.

Zhang Yimou is the fifth person to be honoured by FIAPF through their partnership with the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Previous recipients are George Miller (2007), Yash Chopra (2008), Isao Matsuoka (2009) and Christine Hakim (2010).

A total of 37 films from 19 countries and areas across Asia-Pacific have been nominated in the 2011 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The International Jury, headed by Hong Kong’s Nansun Shi, will assemble on Australia’s Gold Coast in mid November ahead of the APSA Ceremony on November 24.

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the Queensland Government through Events Queensland, in collaboration with UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations.