Judging is under way for the third annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) on the Gold Coast, with 37 films from 16 countries and areas competing for the region's top honour in movie making.
Two Australians have been added to this year's international jury - film historian and documentary maker Andrew Pike, and actor Aden Young who starred in Mao's Last Dancer directed by last year's jury president Bruce Beresford.
The nominees will be inducted on Thursday by APSA Academy patron and actor, Jack Thompson.
The APSAs honour the work of filmmakers in a region covering 70 countries.
There are three Australian films in the running for awards including Samson and Delilah, which has won rave reviews and is among the five movies up for the top honour of best feature film.
It tells the story of two young Aboriginal teenagers living in the squalor and hopelessness of a community in central Australia and while it has almost no dialogue the movie packs a punch like few others.
Gandhi's Children, produced by Professor David MacDougall from the Australian National University in Canberra, has been nominated for best documentary.
And Mary and Max by Melanie Coombs and Adam Elliot, who won an Academy Award for his short animated clay movie Harvie Krumpet, is up for best animated feature film.
Films are judged on cinematic excellence and the way in which they attest to their cultural origins.
Winners will be announced on Thursday night at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, featuring a performance by Japan's hip hop and R&B megastar Ai.
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