MPA APSA Fund awards $25,000

The 2014 MPA Academy Film Fund has announced its four grants of $25,000 during the 8th annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony in Brisbane.

The selected projects are:

CORRIDORS OF POWER (documentary feature)
Dror Moreh (Israel)
“Dror Moreh’s new film, Corridors of Power, is a bold and confronting examination of how the world’s political leaders have responded to reports of mass killings and genocide around the world in recent decades. His film explores the connection between the strength of political responses and economic self-interests. The film will take us far behind the scenes, into the inner sanctums of the world’s most powerful decision makers.”

FLOWER (GOUL) (feature film)
Jafar Panahi (Islamic Republic of Iran) for Panah Panahi
“Flower explores the turmoil created by a father’s conviction that he must kill his disabled son to bring peace to his family.  This challenging drama is drawn from real life, and brings home the plight of people with disabilities in Iran. This film will be directed by Jafar’s son, Panah, who is an emerging director of distinction and shares his father’s humanist concerns.”

NO LAND’S MAN (feature film)
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh)
“A leading figure in the emerging Bangladeshi cinema, Farooki’s new film, No Land’s Man is a dark satirical drama. The film examines the plight of a man from a religious minority who is persecuted in his home country, and escapes overseas only to find himself still the target of racial prejudice and hostility in the USA and Australia.”

ON SCREEN OFF RECORD (documentary feature)
Signe Byrge Sørensen (Denmark)
“Sørenson’s new film is a provocative documentary about the citizen journalist movement in Syria - citizens who have been recording events in the Syrian crisis and posting stories on the internet. This film will tell the story of this movement and provide a context for their stories and images.”

The MPA’s Mike Ellis said, “This year we received over 100 submissions from filmmakers across this wide region, which indicates that the initiative is resonating well with Academy members and helping them develop their projects. The level of film treatments is exceptionally high, and as usual we are grateful to have a wonderfully talented Film Fund selection panel to work through the projects and decide on the recipients. The Fund goes from strength to strength and we wish all of the filmmakers great success with the development of their films.”