The Japanese film 5 Centimeters Per Second (Byosoku 5 Centimeters) from writer/director Makoto Shinkai won Best Animated Feature Film at the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region’s highest accolade for films released in 2007. More than 500 film industry luminaries from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the U.S. attended the ceremony, which was held Monday night on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Producer Noritaka Kawaguchi accepted the award for 5 Centimeters, a collection of three stories about how people drift apart and go their separate ways. The title refers to the speed at which cherry blossoms fall. Unlike Shinkai’s previous features, including Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi no Koe), this latest effort eschews science-fiction and fantasy elements in favor of depicting realistic human relationships. The pic was produced by CoMix Wave, which also distributed it to Japanese theaters in March. ADV Films will release it on DVD in the U.S. in December.
Australian director and producer George Miller (Happy Feet, Babe: Pig in the City, Lorenzo’s Oil, Mad Max) was announced as the winner of The FIAPF Award for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region. The Award was presented by Benoit Ginisty, deputy director-general of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.
The 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards were determined by an International Jury headed by esteemed Indian actress and humanitarian Shabana Azmi. Other winners include Korea’s Secret Sunshine (Miryang) for Best Feature Film and Indonesia’s Denias, Singing on the Cloud (Denias, Senandung di Atas Awan) for Best Children’s Feature Film. Iranian directors Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab won Best Achievement in Directing for Mainline (Khoonbazi).
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an initiative of the Queensland Government in collaboration with CNN International, UNESCO and FIAPF. The Awards honor the works of filmmakers across a region covering more than 70 countries, accounting for half the world’s film output. The awards ceremony will air Nov. 17 on CNN International as part of Scene By Scene – Best Films of Asia Pacific.
