The 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival announced "The Storm" as the opening film

The 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival finally selected 25 films from a variety of wonderful Asian films to compete for 12 awards

The annual Asian film festival, the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival, returned to Macau. After two rounds of judging by the Jury of the Asia Pacific Film Festival, 25 films were selected to compete for 12 awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and actress, Best Supporting actor and actress, Best Screenplay, best Cinematography, best editing, best sound, best Music and Best Art direction. The shortlist was announced recently in Macao. The Best Short Film and Outstanding Achievement awards will be announced on the day of the ceremony.

This year's festival ended with "Movie Chutzpah! Is held in Macao from 13 to 15 December. The quality of the films in contention for the awards this year is high and the stars are shining, and the competition is expected to be fierce.

Shi Nansheng poses with the stars

The jury president of this year's festival is Ms. Nan-sheng Shi, a veteran filmmaker who has just been awarded the French Order of Officers of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture and Communication of the French Government. "The Asia Pacific film industry is gaining a higher and higher status in the international film industry, thanks to the efforts of every member of the industry. It is both a pleasure and a hardship for me to be the president of this jury, because it gives me great pleasure to be able to participate in this great event with all of you in the industry," she said. "But the quality of every participant in this competition is very high. It is not easy to decide on a shortlist. But I think, just like the theme of the conference, film is everywhere, our lives are integrated with film, and we all contribute to the success of the Asia-Pacific film industry." At the press conference, Miss Nansheng Shi also announced the jury list. They include Afdlin Shauki, who has won the Best Actor Award in Malaysia Film Festival for three times, Claire Stewar, Director of exhibitions of the British Film Institute (BFI), and Christian, Deputy Chief representative and Director of Film Department of Kangcheng International Film Festival Jeune, renowned South Korean director Hsu Chin-ho, renowned Taiwanese filmmaker Chang Ai-Chia, and Zhang Zhao, CEO and executive director of China's Le Vision Pictures.

Cotai Cotai Resort and Venetian Macau are the lead sponsors of the Asia Pacific Film Festival for the second year in a row. "The Asia Pacific Film Festival is a very important event for Macau, not only to promote the development of the arts and culture sector in the region, but also to attract international attention to Macao, which helps to promote Macao as one of Asia's premier entertainment destinations and a world tourism and leisure center," said Mr. Zhuo Ha, Executive Vice President, President of Finance and Executive Director of Sands China Limited. Macau is no stranger to the film industry and we are delighted that our integrated resort is contributing to the development of the Asian film industry by hosting film festivals, award ceremonies, film premieres and being a popular filming location."

Mr. John Tsang, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival, said, "It is a great honor to be part of this prestigious film festival again. There are many outstanding films from Asia competing in different categories this year. I am delighted to be here with you to witness the flowering of the Asian film industry. I hope the Asia Pacific Film Festival will continue to promote the development of the film industry and make the Asian film industry continue to shine."

The convenor of the Organising Committee of the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival, Mr. Chan Chak Wu, said when announcing the shortlisted films: "I would like to thank the Macao Government for its continuous support to the development of the film industry in Macau, and also the Macao Foundation, Sands China Limited and the participating regions for their support and assistance in promoting the film industry in Macau and the region as a whole at the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival."

"The Storm", starring Andy Lau, Yao Chen and Lam Ka-tung, was announced at the press conference as the opening film of this year's Asia Pacific Film Festival. The film's director and screenwriter Yuan Jinlin was more personally present to support. It was also announced that on the day of the awards ceremony on December 15, Lollipop F, a boy band from Taiwan, will be invited to perform as a guest. Dozens of fans from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions will attend the ceremony.