Hamaguchi and Shah Lead Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations
Films by Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Abinash Bikram Shah top the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, each collecting three nominations across the awards' marquee categories.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy unveiled a 36-film nomination slate drawn from 32 countries and regions on 9 September 2026, according to Variety. The ceremony is set for 30 October on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Hamaguchi's "All of a Sudden" — a co-production spanning France, Japan, Germany and Belgium — earned nods for best film, best director and best performance. Shah's "Elephants in the Fog," backed by Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France and Norway, matched that haul in the same three categories. The best performance race is ungendered, and "All of a Sudden" lands two performers on the ballot jointly: Virginie Efira and Okamoto Tao.
The best film category also includes three films with two nominations each: "No Good Men" by Shahrbanoo Sadat, "Guria" by Levan Koguashvili, and "9 Temples to Heaven" by Sompot Chidgasornpongse. Chidgasornpongse is also shortlisted for best director, alongside Hamaguchi, Shah, Aung Phyoe for "Fruit Gathering" and Jennifer Peedom for "Tenzing."
What makes this year's slate striking is how many names on it are still early in their careers. The Academy reports that 69% of nominated directors are presenting their first or second feature. Every best youth film nominee is helmed by a first-time director, and every best animated film contender comes from a first- or second-time filmmaker. The Singaporean-Spanish duo behind the animated contender "The Violinist," Ervin Han and Raúl García, fit that pattern.
Beyond the headline races, the awards recognise best screenplay, best cinematography, best youth film, best animated film and best documentary film. Mandy Walker ASC ACS — the cinematographer serving as international jury president this year — will also lead a masterclass during the Asia Pacific Screen Forum, which runs 28–30 October on the Gold Coast ahead of the ceremony. Forum sessions cover financing, distribution and cross-border collaboration.
Three films that reached the nomination list received early support from the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, a development grant backed by the Motion Picture Association: "9 Temples to Heaven" (funded in 2021), "The Station" by Sara Ishaq (2019) and "We Are All Strangers" by Anthony Chen (2023). Submissions for the fund's current cycle remain open through 25 September.
Tracey Vieira chairs the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, which has run the awards since 2007 as a showcase for cinema across the region — a footprint that runs from the Middle East through East Asia and the Pacific.
The awards arrive at a point on the calendar when the autumn festival circuit has already begun sorting films into the conversation for the year ahead. For the 36 nominated titles, a Gold Coast trophy on 30 October is the next stop.
