The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) announced last month that submissions are open for the 2013 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Four USD$25,000 grants will be awarded to projects to further their stories from treatment stage to final script.

An initiative of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in collaboration with APSA since 2010, the MPA APSA Film Fund is available exclusively to APSA Academy members. The Asia Pacific Screen Academy was established in 2008 and brings together some 600 of the region’s most respected names in film. This influential alumni of filmmakers is comprised of APSA nominees, winners, and members of both the International Juries and Nominations Councils to date.

In the past years of the Fund, grants have  gone to filmmakers from Australia, India, Iraq, Israel, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and Turkey.

Executive Chairman of APSA, Michael Hawkins, said: “The Fund was established to stimulate film production in the Asia Pacific region and to encourage dialogue, collaboration and business opportunities for the region’s filmmakers particularly at the developmental phase. Among the 70 countries embraced by APSA, development grants have already been awarded to twelve Academy members to assist them in realizing their stories for the screen. Now in its fourth year we are watching the progress of the twelve projects assisted through the Film Fund as they finalize scripts, go into production, and begin to charm audiences around the world.”

Applications for the Fund will be assessed by an international panel of film industry professionals, and the 2013 recipients will be announced at the seventh annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony in Brisbane, Australia, on December 12, 2013.

The criteria, rules and regulations can be located on the APSA website www.asiapacificscreenawards.com or by clicking on the following link www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/film-funds/.

Submissions close on November 15, 2013.

APSA is an initiative of Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Marketing in collaboration with international partners UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations.