Brisbane City Council cans Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Brisbane City Council has scrapped the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, ending a 13-year run hosting the international film competition.
The awards were founded by the council in 2007 as a major attraction and was run by its economic agency Brisbane Marketing at a cost of $1.9 million of ratepayer funds in the 2019-20 budget.
At the 13th awards in November 2019, lord mayor Adrian Schrinner committed Brisbane to hosting the awards long-term but that has come to an abrupt halt because of the impact of coronavirus on the council's budget.
(From left) Australian actor David Wenham, APSA academy president Jack Thompson AM, 2017 APSA winner Greer Simpkin, Australian actor & awards co-host Deborah Mailman, Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner, Philippines actress Max Eigenmann and Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee.Credit:Toby Crockford
Showcasing films from about 70 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the awards were designed to be a tourism attraction bringing hundreds of filmmakers, actors and industry members to Brisbane.
At a council budget information session on Monday afternoon, economic development committee chairwoman Krista Adams confirmed the awards were not included in the 2020-21 budget.
Cr Adams said it was a "reality" that the awards relied heavily on international travel from visitors coming to Brisbane for the awards ceremony, usually held in November each year.
Cr Adams said APSA's board was working through how to keep the film awards open for its 14th year, without the council as its sole funding source.
"It is supported formerly through Brisbane Marketing, it has a board with a chair and they're working through all those opportunities," she said.
APSA is estimated to bring about $150 million in revenue and job creation to Brisbane.
The board was considering other options including moving to another city if an offer was made, or if APSA becomes its own business, Cr Adams said.
Cr Adams said the plan was not to close the awards completely, with entries already open for the upcoming 14th APSA awards.
Entries for this year opened in mid-March, with a statement on the APSA website noting the challenging times for the filmmaking industry and a need to support creatives.
APSA's board is led by Michael Hawkins with a board of four other members - Pauline Chan, John Kirby, Harvey Lister and Des Power.
Last year's awards had a diverse range of entries, with Oscar-winning film Parasite by South Korean director Bong Joon-ho winning Best Feature Film.