# Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Guria Wins Best Film as Sompot Chidgasornpongse Takes Director Prize > Georgian movie Guria claimed the best film prize at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Queensland, Australia, while Sompot Chidgasornpongse won best director. - Publisher: Briefzora (https://briefzora.com) - URL: https://briefzora.com/asia-pacific-screen-awards-guria-wins-best-film-as-sompot-chidgasornpongse-takes-director-prize - Published: 2026-10-31T20:48:00+05:00 - Author: Briefzora Desk (https://briefzora.com/author/briefzora-desk) - Section: Lifestyle - Topics: Asia Pacific Screen Awards - Image: https://briefzora.com/uploads/2026/10/georgias-guria-wins-best-film-at-asia-pacific-screen-awards-as-thai-q4g6rq.webp ## Key points - Levan Koguashvili's Guria won best film at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. - The awards ceremony took place on Oct. 30 at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. - Sompot Chidgasornpongse won best director for 9 Temples to Heaven. - Bobby Bedi received the FIAPF Award for outstanding contribution to film. - Five projects were selected for the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, each receiving a $10,000 grant. ## Why it matters Filmmakers and producers from across the Asia Pacific region receive international recognition and funding grants to support their future cinematic projects. ## Article Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili earned the best film accolade for Guria during the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, presented on Oct. 30 at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Koguashvili shared the honor with fellow producers Olena Yershova and Boris Frumin. The movie was produced across seven countries, consisting of Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Norway and Saudi Arabia. Sompot Chidgasornpongse, a director from Thailand, secured the best director trophy for 9 Temples to Heaven, a joint production involving Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Qatar. Aung Phyoe of Myanmar earned a special mention in the directing field for Fruit Gathering, whereas Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat captured the Jury Grand Prize for No Good Men. This year's competition featured 36 nominated films originating from 32 countries and regions. Pushpa Thing Lama, an actor from Nepal, grabbed the best performance award for Elephants in the Fog, and Sim Su-bin from South Korea was honored as best new performer for The World Before. The screenplay prize went to Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi and Pôl Seif for Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep, which received backing from Belgium, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Vietnamese cinematographer Nguyễn Vinh Phúc triumphed for Hearing. Paloma Schneideman of New Zealand won best youth film for Big Girls Don't Cry, produced by Vicky Pope and Thomas Coppell. The animation award went to The Violinist, a collaboration between Singapore, Spain and Italy co-directed by Ervin Han of Singapore and Raúl García of Spain. Itab Azzam and Jack MacInness secured best documentary for One in a Million, a British and American movie tracking the daily existence of a Syrian refugee. Isabelle Kalandar, who directed and produced Another Birth, received the Cultural Diversity Award for the Tajikistan, U.S. and Qatar partnership. R. Gowtham of India captured the Young Cinema Award, presented alongside NETPAC, for Members of the Problematic Family. Malaysian director Haziqah Azemi earned the Forum Filmmaker Award, presented with The Post Lounge Group, for her project Garek. The narrative focuses on a woman whose romance faces severe challenges due to religious backlash after getting pregnant outside of marriage. Azemi, who participated in the Griffith Film School and APSA Regional Reels program, returned to APSA after developing the work with guidance from APSA Academy member Yulia Evina Bhara. Tracey Vieira, chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, stated, From Guria and No Good Men to Elephants in the Fog, this year's winners remind us of the extraordinary stories emerging from our region and the importance of creating opportunities for these voices to be recognized internationally. Bobby Bedi, a veteran producer from India, received the FIAPF Award for his exceptional contributions to cinema in the Asia Pacific. Luis Alberto Scalella, president of FIAPF, stated, Through landmark films such as Bandit Queen and Fire, he has championed powerful stories that have challenged audiences and resonated far beyond India. The event also showcased five projects chosen for the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, with each receiving a $10,000 grant financed entirely by the Motion Picture Association. These include Payal Kapadia's A Memory of Being Here from India, produced by Thomas Hakim; Davy Chou's My Father's Glory from France and Cambodia, produced by Charlotte Vincent; Taifeng Liu's A Place in the Sun from China, produced by Janet (Yan Yan) Wu; Nicole Midori Woodford's Incarnation from Singapore and Japan, produced by Anthony Chen; and Zhanana Kurmasheva's documentary The Story of My Shirt from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Chile, produced by Banu Ramazanova. Three of the five selected projects are led by female directors. Chen rejoins the fund after contributing to We Are All Strangers, which secured a grant in 2023 and ranked among this year's nominees. Urmila Venugopalan, president and managing director for Asia Pacific at the Motion Picture Association, stated that the triumph of productions such as 9 Temples to Heaven, which obtained MPA APSA Academy Film Fund assistance in 2021, shows the importance of supporting filmmakers and their stories from the earliest stages of development. Every APSA nominee, alongside members of the nominations councils and juries, enters the APSA Academy, headed by Australian screen veteran Jack Thompson. The organization presently includes more than 1,816 members across 84 countries and areas. **The full list of winners:** **Best Film** Guria, dir. Levan Koguashvili; prod. Olena Yershova, Levan Koguashvili, Boris Frumin (Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Norway, Saudi Arabia) **Jury Grand Prize** Shahrbanoo Sadat, No Good Men (Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Afghanistan) **Best Director** Sompot Chidgasornpongse, 9 Temples to Heaven (Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar) **Best Director - Special Mention** Aung Phyoe, Fruit Gathering (Myanmar, Czech Republic, France) **Best Youth Film** Big Girls Don't Cry, dir. Paloma Schneideman; prod. Vicky Pope, Thomas Coppell (New Zealand) **Best Animated Film** The Violinist, dir. Ervin Han, Raúl García; prod. Paloma Mora, Cristiano Bortone, Justin Deimen, Leonard Lai, Takafumi Yuki (Singapore, Spain, Italy) **Best Documentary Film** One in a Million, dir. Itab Azzam, Jack MacInness; prod. Itab Azzam, Jack MacInness, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer, Raney Aronson-Rath (U.K., U.S.) **Best Screenplay** Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi, Pôl Seif, Yesterday the Eye Didn't Sleep (Belgium, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) **Best Cinematography** Nguyễn Vinh Phúc, Hearing (Vietnam, Singapore, Norway, France, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan) **Best Performance** Pushpa Thing Lama, Elephants in the Fog (Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France, Norway) **Best New Performer** Sim Su-bin, The World Before (South Korea) **Cultural Diversity Award** Another Birth, dir./prod. Isabelle Kalandar (Tajikistan, U.S., Qatar) **Young Cinema Award (in partnership with Netpac)** R. Gowtham, Members of the Problematic Family (India) **FIAPF Award** Bobby Bedi (India) **Forum Filmmaker Award** Haziqah Azemi, Garek (Malaysia) **MPA APSA Academy Film Fund** A Memory of Being Here, dir. Payal Kapadia; prod. Thomas Hakim (India) My Father's Glory, dir. Davy Chou; prod. Charlotte Vincent (France, Cambodia) A Place in the Sun, dir. Taifeng Liu; prod. Janet (Yan Yan) Wu (China) Incarnation, dir. Nicole Midori Woodford; prod. Anthony Chen (Singapore, Japan) The Story of My Shirt, dir. Zhanana Kurmasheva; prod. Banu Ramazanova (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Chile) ## Frequently asked questions ### Which film won best film at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards? Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili's Guria won best film at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. ### Who won best director at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards? Thai director Sompot Chidgasornpongse won best director for 9 Temples to Heaven. --- When citing, please link to https://briefzora.com/asia-pacific-screen-awards-guria-wins-best-film-as-sompot-chidgasornpongse-takes-director-prize and name Briefzora as the source.