Profiles of the Asia-Pacific Film Festival team of judges

JAKARTA (JP): The 40th Asia-Pacific Film Festival (APFF) will start tomorrow. Delegations from the 14 participating Asia- Pacific countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Kuwait, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are scheduled to arrive today.

Meanwhile, a seven-member jury started evaluating the films -- some 30 features and ten documentary films -- on July 11. The jury members' profiles, consisting of three Indonesian, one Malaysian, one Japanese, one Taiwanese and one Australian, are briefly sketched here:

Indonesia:

Boediardjo, head and member of the board of the jury:

An Indonesian Air Force Marshall (ret.) born in Borobudur, Central Java on Nov. 16, 1921. His close relation to the film world started when he was Minister of Information between 1968 and 1973.

Between 1965 and 1968 Boediardjo served as Indonesia's Ambassador to Cambodia. After retiring from his position as Minister of Information, he was appointed Indonesia's Ambassador to Spain (1976-1979).

The receiver of the Guerrilla Star medal, Garuda Star, Duty Star and many more, spends his retirement days as a member of trustee boards at several universities, helps at social organizations and has taken up photography. Boediardjo has also received medals from the Yugoslavia, Egypt, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Spain.

Christine Hakim

Christine Hakim is presently Indonesia's most prominent actress. Born in Kuala Tungkal on Dec. 25, 1956, she has received several Citra prizes -- the highest award in the Indonesian film industry.

Her first movie Cinta Pertama directed by one of Indonesian leading directors, Teguh Karya, earned her the Best Actress award at the Indonesia's Film Festival in 1974. She also grabbed prizes for Sesuatu yang Indah, directed by Wim Umboh in 1977, Pengemis dan Tukang Becak, also by Wim Umboh in 1979, Di Balik Kelambu by Teguh Karya in 1983, Kerikil-Kerikil Tajam by Syumandjaya in 1985, and Tjoet Nya' Dhien, by Eros Djarot in 1988. Christine also received award from the Korean Motion Picture for her performance in Kawin Lari.

Christine has been a jury member at several international festivals, including the TV Feature at Shanghai Film Festival in 1985 in China, the International Movie Festival in 1990 in Tokyo, the International Film Festival in 1990 in Hawaii, the International Film Festival in 1994 in Singapore and the 39th Asian Pacific Film Festival in 1994 in Sydney.

Ami Priyono

His full name is Lembu Amiluhur Priyono and was born on Oct. 23, 1959. After leaving the Department of Archeology at the University of Indonesia (1956-1957), Ami departed to Russia to attend the Nation's Institute of Film in Moscow, Art Department (1957-1959).

One year after returning from Moscow, Ami became involved in movies first as an artistic arranger (1968-1974) and then occasionally acting and directing.

Ami won Best Artistic Programmer for the film Ambisi in the 1974 IFF, Best Director for Jakarta-Jakarta in the 1978 IFF and, for the same movie, the Film Award with the Contemporary theme at the APFF in Sydney.

Ami has sat on the jury at the APFF in Kuala Lumpur (1991), the Indonesian Television Film Festival (1994) and the Film Festival for Non-Block Countries in Pyongyang (1994).

Malaysia:

Pancacharam Nalliah

Producer, director, screen writer, and also movie actor, he was born on March 14, 1949 in Johor Baru, Johor, Malaysia. Panshah is an experienced movie man in Malaysia, having made no less than 13 movies including, Jejaka Perasan where he acted as both producer and screen writer, Sayang (Producer, Director, and Screen Writer), Kanta Serigala (winner of the "Best Sound Effect" FFAP 1992), Perempuan, Isteri dan Jalang (Best Movie in Malaysian Film Festival in 1994).

Panshah has also produced movies for television.

Taiwan:

Lee You-ning

This member of the jury from Taipei was born on Jan. 10, 1950. He received his bachelor degree in Media Education from Tamkang University, Taiwan, and his masters from the USA Film Production Department of Columbia University in California.

Lee once worked as a correspondent for China Times in Hollywood (1978-1982). He has directed seven films and ten documentaries (1982-1992). Besides working as a director, he also is a lecturer at Tamkang University in Taiwan, director for the Drama and Film Association of Taiwan, head of the Taiwan Film Producer Association and the Director of the Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival.

Australia:

Jane Freebury

Jane is a film observer, journalist and educator. She received her bachelor degree from the University of Sydney in 1973 and her masters in 1986 from the film department of the University of Westminster in London.

She writes articles about films for The Jakarta Post (1994), where she was once a part-time journalist (1987-1992), and for Australian Society, an Australian-based film weekly.

Jane taught English at the Adult Migrant Education Service in New South Wales, Australia (1986-1990) and taught English at Davie's College in Brighton, England (1979-1985)

In addition, she once served as a sub-editor at Angus & Robertson Publishers in Brighton, London (1979), worked at the publication department of New South Wales Institute of Technology in 1975. She was a sub-editor of the Australian Encyclopedia, published by Grollier, Sydney (1973).

Japan:

Tomio Kuriyama

Tomio Kuriyama was born in Ibaraki, near Tokyo on Feb. 20, 1941. After completing his studies at the International Christian University (1965) in Japan, he worked in Shochiku Ofuna Studios as an assistant producer. He developed his movie making skills during his 18 years at the studio. He once assisted Yoji Yamada, the maker of the famous Tora San series, from whom he learned a lot about the basics of making movies.

Kuriyama's first film was Itoshino Lahaina which was based on a script by Yoji Yamada (1983). he made Shukuji in 1985 and it earned him the Newcomer Award from the Ministry of Education for what was called his "impressive development of artistry". His other works include Itoshi no Chiipappa (1987), and the series of Tsuribaka Nisshi, the seventh episode of which was completed in 1994. (als)