Asghar Farhadi’s Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation, Islamic Republic of Iran) won the Best Feature Film Award at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.  Asghar Farhadi, who wrote, produced and directed the film, accepted his Award at the APSA Ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 2011 APSA International Jury President, Hong Kong’s Nansun Shi.

Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina), written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan and produced by Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, won three APSAs. Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the Achievement in Directing, Gökhan Tiryaki was
presented with the Award for Achievement in Cinematography and producer Zeynep Özbatur Atakan was awarded the Screen International Jury Grand Prize.

The High Commendation for the Screen International Jury Grand Prize to the Ensemble Cast was awarded to the cast of the Egyptian film Cairo 678 – Nahed El Sebai, Bushra and Nelly Karim.

The UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film was won by Australian filmmaker Ivan Sen for his film Toomelah, which he wrote and directed.

The Best Performance by an Actress Award was won by Nadezhda Markina, from the Russian Federation, for Elena. The Jury also decided to award a High Commendation to the film’s director Andrei Zviagintsev.

The Best Performance by an Actor Award was won by Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang for Hello! Shu Xian Sheng (Mr Tree).

The Best Screenplay Award went to Denis Osokin for Ovsyanki (Silent Souls, Russian Federation). A High Commendation in the Best Screenplay category was awarded to Yoon Sung-hyun for Pa-soo-kkoon (Bleak Night, Republic of Korea).

The Best Documentary Feature was won by producer Maryam Ebrahimi for Jag Var Värd 50 Lamm (I Was Worth 50 Sheep, Sweden, Japan, USA.) The film was directed by Nima Sarvestani. A High Commendation was awarded to Pink Saris (UK, India), produced by
Amber Latiff and Girjashanker Vohra and directed by Kim Longinotto.

Buta has become the first APSA winner from Azerbaijan, with producers Khamis Muradov and Ilgar Najaf taking home the Award for Best Children’s Feature Film. Ilgar Najaf also directed Buta and co-wrote the screenplay. A High Commendation for Best Children’s Feature Film was awarded to Bad o Meh (Wind and Fog, Islamic Republic of Iran), produced by Naser Dehghani Poudeh and written and directed by Mohammad Ali Talebi.

Best Animated Feature Film was won by Lee Eun, Shim Jaemyung, and Kim Sunku for Madangeul naon amtak (Leafie, Republic of Korea). Leafie was directed by Oh Seongyun and written by Kim Eunjung and Na Hyun.

Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou received this year’s FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations Award for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region.