NETPAC is happy to announce the nominees for the inaugural NETPAC Aruna Vasudev Award for the Best Asia Pacific Film 2024. The Award winner will be announced on 18th February 2025 at the closing ceremony of the 31st FICA (Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie), Vesoul, France. The Award consists of an artwork, designed by the well known Iranian artist Keivan Beiranvand.
The Award winner for the 1st NETPAC Aruna Vasudev Award for Best Book published on Asia Pacific Cinema will also be announced at the same venue.
NETPAC has instituted these annual Awards to honour the memory of its founder Ms. Aruna Vasudev. In her lifetime Ms Aruna Vasudev worked tirelessly for the promotion of Asian Cinema across the globe. Cinemaya, the magazine she published and edited for over 20 years, was a first of its kind, bringing a rich history and critique to Asian Films and Filmmakers. In 1989, she established NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema). The Network has grown with nearly 180 filmmakers, scholars, academics, curators and film festival directors as members. In 2015 we expanded our mandate to include films from the Pacific region. NETPAC awards the Best Asia Pacific Film at over 25 festivals across the world, including Venice, Rotterdam, Toronto etc. Aruna was associated with numerous festivals and was instrumental in a number of filmmakers and films taking centre stage.
NETPAC has instituted the annual awards which will be decided by a nomination process by its members. The presentation of the Award will rotate to NETPAC affiliated festivals.
The nominees for this first edition were chosen by the NETPAC Board from over 600 Feature films presented in 2024 that celebrate the diversity of Asia Pacific cinema.
The nominees for the 1st NETPAC Aruna Vasudev Award for Best Asia / Pacific Film, 2024 are:
To A Land Unknown
Dir: Mahdi Fleifel, Palestine / Denmark
All We Imagine as Light
Dir: Ms. Payal Kapadia, India / France / Netherlands / Luxemburg / Italy
April
Dir: Ms. Dea Kulumbegashvili, Georgia / France / Italy
Cu Li Never Cries
Dir: Lan Pham Ngoc, Vietnam / Philippines / France / Singapore / Norway
My Favorite Cake
Dir: Behtash Sanaie Ha & Ms. Maryam Moghadam, Iran / France / Germany / Sweden
The NETPAC Board acknowledges the contributions of Mohammad Atebbai, Wang Yao, Keivan Beiranvand, Yamini Gandhi (Aruna’s daughter) and FICA for making this possible.
