Australian director Stephen Page has won the Asia Pacific Screen Award(APSA) Special Mention for feature film “Spear” in the UNESCO award category.

At a ceremony in Brisbane on Thursday, the Jury member U-Wei Bin Haji Saari described the film as “a stunning example of indigenous storytelling.”

“Spear” tells a contemporary Indigenous story through movement and Dance. The film follows young Indigenous man, Djali, as he learns the ancient traditions of becoming a man in a modern world.

Films from Thailand, Russian Federation, Turkey, People’s Republic of China, Japan, Palestine, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia also received accolades at the event.

The awards recognise and promote cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest-growing film region: comprising 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people, and responsible for half of the world’s film output. In 2015, 39 films from 22 Asia Pacific countries and areas received APSA nominations.

The APSA UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film was given to Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad for "The Idol."

Page is the artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre. He is a descendant of the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh tribe from southeast Queensland.

The other winners at APSA 2015 are: "Cementy of Splendor" for best feature film, "River" for best youth feature film, "Miss Hokusai" for best animated feature film, "The Chinese Mayor" for best documentary feature film, Alexey German Jr ("Under the Electric clouds") for achievement in directing, Senem Tüzen ("Motherland") for best screenplay, Mark Lee Ping-bing ("The Assassin") for achievement in cinematography, Kirin Kiki ("An") for best performance by an actress, Jung Jaeyoung ("Right Now, Wrong Then") for best performance by an actor.

"The Idol" won APSA UNESCO Award, while Esaad Younis got the FIAPF AWARD for Outstanding Achievement in Film in the Asia Pacific region. Mirlan Abdykalykov got APSA ACADEMY NETPAC development prize and Park Jungbum("Alive") along with Emin Alper ("Frenzy") got the grand Jury prize

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