TEHRAN – Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has been picked as best director at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA).

In its statement, the international jury has called the drama “an intimate epic,” and added, “Asghar Farhadi continues to perfect the fine art of making cinema that is hyper local yet also globally understood and universally loved.”

As Iran’s submission to the Academy Awards 2022, “A Hero” tells the story of Rahim, who is in prison because he was unable to pay a debt. During a two-day leave of absence from prison, he attempts to have his creditor withdraw his complaint over part of the sum owed. But things don’t go as planned.

Winners in the APSA were announced on Thursday on Australia’s Gold Coast by honoring Japanese drama “Drive My Car” as best film.

Co-written by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Oe Takamasa, the film also won the award for best screenplay.

The film produced by Teruhisa Yamamot, tells the story of Nishijima Hidetoshi, a stage actor and director who is happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day she disappears.

“In his potent drama of secrets and trauma, Ryusuke Hamaguchi x-rays his damaged characters, each haunted by their past, as he incisively explores ideas of love, desire, infidelity, guilt and atonement. The result is an indelible film of immense power,” the jury said.

A jury grand prize was awarded to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of “Rehana”, a co-production from Bangladesh, Singapore and Qatar.

The film also brought Azmeri Haque Badhon the award for best actress.

Another jury grand prize went to the Australian director Leah Purcell for her debut feature “The Drover’s Wife”, also known as “The Legend of Molly Johnson”.

The award for best cinematography was given to Nguyen Vinh Phuc for “Taste” by Vietnamese director Le Bao, who won the Young Cinema Award in partnership with NETPAC and GFS.

Merab Ninidze from Georgia won the best actor award for his role in the Russian drama “House Arrest” by Alexey German Jr.

“Moving On” by Korean director Yoon Dan-bi won the  Best Youth Feature Film, while the best animated feature film award went to “The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks” by Russian director Andrey Khrzhanovsky.

“Sabaya” by Swedish filmmaker Hogir Hirori was selected as best documentary feature film.

Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad was also among four recipients of MPA APSA Academy Film Fund grants. She received the funding for her project “Red Mist Descending”.

Photo: Director Asghar Farhadi in an undated photo.   

MMS/YAW