40 films to enter Asia-Pacific festival
JAKARTA (JP): Organizers of the forthcoming 40th Asia-Pacific Film Festival announced that 30 movies and 10 documentary films from 13 Asia-Pacific countries will participate in the festival to be held here from July 23 to 26.
Turino Junaidy, head of the organizing committee, said that the organizers have received titles from Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand and Indonesia, all of which will be submitted for competition.
Australia, which earlier said it would send three entries, has not yet given their film titles, Junaidy said.
He said all the films must first pass the local film censorship board.
The films will be presented before the jury board between July 11 to 21, he said, adding that the nominations in 13 categories will be announced on July 23.
The films in the competition will be shown to the public from July 23 to 25 at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) art center in Cikini, said Johan Tjasmadi, who was appointed this week to chair the National Film Advisory Board.
Jurors
The film jurors are former Indonesian information minister Budiharjo, who will act as chairman and member of the panel, film director Amy Priyono and actress Christine Hakim, both from Indonesia, film director and actor Panchacharam Nalliaa of Malaysia, film observer and reporter Jane Freebury of Australia, film director Yooning Lee of Taiwan and film director Tomio Kuriyama of Japan.
Apart from the official films, Junaidy said, a film exchange forum for non-competing films will be also organized where the 14 participating countries can sell and buy films, including films for television.
"Initially, we wanted to enhance the buying and selling of films produced in Asia-Pacific countries. In the future, we hope to extend this exchange to countries outside the region," Junaidy said.
Other countries taking part in the festival, but not in the competition, are India, Kuwait, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines.
A series of seminars on ways of enhancing the region's film industries will also be held. Issues to be discussed will include the co-production and marketing of member-country films and the financing of jointly produced films.
Festival delegations are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Soeharto on July 24.
A special trophy will be presented to 88-year-old Sir Run Run Shaw, a Hong Kong film mogul who is one of founders of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers Association, for his loyalty to the film industry. (als)