Georgian drama Guria won Best Film at the 19th Asia Pacific Screen Awards on October 30, 2026, taking the top honor at The Star Gold Coast in Australia as filmmakers from across 32 countries gathered for the annual regional cinema celebration.
Levan Koguashvili directed the winning international co-production, which was handed out Oct. 30 at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Koguashvili shared the award with fellow producers Olena Yershova and Boris Frumin. Set in western Georgia during the early 1990s, the comedy-drama follows a financially struggling hazelnut farmer searching for romance. The project represents a sprawling collaboration among Georgia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.
Georgia’s ‘Guria’ Wins Best Film at Asia Pacific Screen Awards as Thailand's Sompot Chidgasornpongse Takes Director Prize https://t.co/pluo6NlAXS
Before arriving at the ceremony, the feature premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and secured selection as Georgia’s official entry for the Academy Awards. Yershova reflected on the film’s core themes during her acceptance speech on the Gold Coast.
Our film is about love and friendship in the hard time of our times – actually, it’s the ’90s, but not much has changed. I think it’s very important still talk about love, friendship, and humanity in this very fragile time because this is something that unites all of us.
Yershova, accepting the award via If
Sompot Chidgasornpongse and Shahrbanoo Sadat Win Top Awards
The 19th edition of the awards featured 36 nominated films representing 32 countries and regions. Thailand’s Sompot Chidgasornpongse captured Best Director for 9 Temples to Heaven, an ambitious multi-nation co-production involving Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Qatar.
Meanwhile, the Jury Grand Prize went to Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat for No Good Men, a co-production linking Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, and Afghanistan. The jury recognized Sadat for her compelling narrative approach and her sustained contribution to contemporary Afghan cinema.
New Zealand claimed the Best Youth Film category as Paloma Schneideman’s Big Girls Don’t Cry took the prize. Produced by Vicky Pope and Thomas Coppell, the film portrays a 14-year-old girl exploring her identity, sexuality, friendship and the desire to reinvent herself during the summer of 2006 and previously premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
‘Guria’ Wins Best Film At Asia Pacific Screen Awards; ‘9 Temples To Heaven’ Takes Best Director https://t.co/wGL1j15nQ1
It’s so important that we keep making spaces for bold new voices from specific perspectives and push the boundaries of how we understand ourselves and also our art form. I’m so excited to see what comes from this cohort in the coming years, and really honoured to be part of it.
Vicky Pope, speaking to the ceremony via If
Category Winners at The Star Gold Coast
- Best Animated Film: The Violinist, directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García (Singapore, Spain, Italy)
- Best Documentary Film: One in a Million, directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInness (United Kingdom, United States)
- Best Screenplay: Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi, and Pôl Seif for Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep
- Best Performance: Pushpa Thing Lama for Elephants in the Fog
- Best New Performer: Sim Su-bin for The World Before
- Best Cinematography: Nguyễn Vinh Phúc for Hearing
- Cultural Diversity Award: Another Birth
- Young Cinema Award: R Gowtham for Members of the Problematic Family (India), presented in partnership with NETPAC
- FIAPF Award: Indian producer Bobby Bedi, recognized for outstanding contribution to film in the Asia Pacific
Motion Picture Association Film Fund Grants
During the ceremony, organizers announced the five recipients of the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Supported by the Motion Picture Association, each selected project receives a grant of $10,000 toward development.
| Project Title | Director | Producer | Production Nations |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Memory of Being Here | Payal Kapadia | Thomas Hakim | India |
| My Father’s Glory | Davy Chou | Charlotte Vincent | France, Cambodia |
| A Place in the Sun | Taifeng Liu | Janet Wu | China |
| Incarnation | Nicole Midori Woodford | Anthony Chen | Singapore, Japan |
| The Story of My Shirt | Zhanana Kurmasheva | Banu Ramazanova | Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Chile |
Urmila Venugopalan, president and managing director for the Asia Pacific at the Motion Picture Association, emphasized that early-stage backing helps vital regional stories reach global audiences. She noted that previous fund recipient 9 Temples to Heaven received MPA APSA Academy Film Fund support in 2021.
Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili’s 'Guria' took home the top prize at this evening’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards on the Gold Coast, while New Zealand’s 'Big Girls Don’t Cry', from director Paloma Schneideman, won Best Youth Film. https://t.co/YSGUIcUTfH