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Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om expectedly fell by the wayside, in the face of of highly-superior cinema in the competition for Best Feature film at APSA 2008 (Honk Kong auteur Johnnie To’s Sparrow, Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Cannes best director award-winning scorcher Three Monkeys and Kazakh stunner Tulpan by Sergei Dvortsevoy), but a small Indian film, The Prisoner by Pryas Gupta, has picked up (jointly) the Jury Grand Prize. Three cheers to thinking cinema. The only other Indian name in the winners list is that of Yash Chopra, who has been given the FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film.

Here’s the winner list (and here is the post about Indian films nominated: http://passionforcinema.com/oso-tzp-mahek-nominated-for-top-honours-at-apsa/)

Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 2008:

Jury Grand Prize:

The Prisoner (India)

Directed by Pryas Gupta
Just released from prison, Siddharth Roy, a once-famous writer, completes a new manuscript. He re-engages with the outside world, hoping that the new book will restore …

Farah Khan’s blockbuster Om Shanti Om, Aamir Khan’s directorial debut Taare Zameen Par and Kranti Kanade’s Mahek have been nominated for top awards at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 2008.

In the individual categories, actor-director Rajat Kapoor has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in Pryas Gupte’s The Prisoner (he won the best actor award at the 10th Osian’s Cinefan this year for this film), while Kiiran Deohans has been nominated in the Achievement in Cinematography category for his work in Jodhaa Akbar.

Here are all the nominations - and as one goes through them, one realises the formidable competition OSO is up against! - Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan), Sparrow (Johnnie To) and Tulpan (Sergei Dvortsevoy).

BEST FEATURE FILM

“The Red Awn” (Hong Se Kang Bai Yin) Cai Shangjun (China)

“Sparrow” (Man Jeuk) Johnnie To (Hong Kong)

“Om Shanti Om” Farah Khan (India)

“Tulpan” Sergei …