Asia Pacific Rice Film Award 2008 - Competition Rules and Regulations

1. Duration: Entries should be no longer than 10 minutes. (Self-contained extracts from longer productions are also accepted, and will be judged entirely on their own without reference to the larger work.)
2. Formats: Any of these would be accepted: 2D or 3D animation; songs; short drama; satire; adaptations of folk culture; documentaries. Films may be fictional or factual, as long as they have rice in Asia as the key theme. The films may have been produced using professional video, home video, mobile phones or cinematic equipment.
3. Production history: Entries should have been produced after January 2008.
4. Thematic scope: Asia's rice heritage (based on any or all of the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom) and the threats it faces in this era of globalization.
5. Geographical scope: The entry's content must be filmed in the Asia Pacific region and produced by a person who is a permanent resident or citizen of an eligible (Asia Pacific) country (see eligibility criteria above).
6. Award category:
  • One general category: open to everyone in the eligible countries with no age limit.
7. Entry submission: There is no entry fee. Entries may be submitted online or offline, according these specifications:
  • For online submissions, the URL for uploading the films is available on www.panap.net/aprfa. Entrants may submit their films in any one of these file formats: Windows Media Player (WMV); Apple Quicktime (MOV); AVI; or MPEG.
  • Sending by post/courier to PAN AP (see address below) in MPEG file format written onto a CD-R (Note: Please do not use VCD or DVD writing software, and send only as an MPEG file, which allows the Secretariat to upload it to the online platform).


The Entry Form is available at www.panap.net/aprfa. Each entry should be accompanied by a completed and signed Entry Form.
8. Copyrights: All who enter films need to declare that they either own or share the copyright of the film. They also agree to allow the competition organisers to use the film online, on DVD/VCD/VHS, or in any other form, for advocacy, educational, or promotional purposes with no time limit for such use.
9. Duration of Competition: Entries will be accepted from 1 August 2008 to 31 January 2009.
10. Judging process: The Award Secretariat will carry out a preliminary screening of all entries to ensure that they conform to eligibility criteria and are accompanied by fully completed Entry Forms.


PAN AP, PMA and TVEAP jointly designated a regional panel of 7 judges below comprising experienced film-makers, journalists, activists or other professionals in relevant fields.


  • Teena Amrit Gill is a journalist and film maker based in New Delhi, India, with a background in development studies and development journalism. She is currently working on another independent film on women in Theravada Buddhism in Thailand.
  • Lihong Shi is an independent filmmaker and freelance media consultant based in Beijing, China. She is Director/Producer of Wild China Film which is devoted to making environmental and natural history films in China.
  • Nalaka Gunawardene is a Sri Lankan journalist and broadcaster. He is Director and CEO of Television for Education - Asia Pacific (www.tveap.org), a non-profit media foundation that works regionally using audio-visual and new media to promote sustainable development.
  • Amir Muhammad is a writer and independent filmmaker based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He started publishing non-fiction books in 2007 under his company Matahari Books.
  • Hyaekyoung Lee is the Chairwoman of the International Women's Film Festival (IWFFIS) and Consultative Chairwoman of the Green Film Festival, both in Seoul. She is also currently Chief Director of the Feminist Artist Network.
  • Rafael Mariano is a farmer-leader and a national chairperson of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas - KMP). He is a co-coordinator of the International Alliance against Agrochemical TNCs (IAAATNCs) and also ANAKPAWIS (Toiling Masses) Party List Representative.
  • Augustine Loorthusamy is a Malaysian and the president of Signis, the International Catholic Association for Communication, which is based in Brussels, Belgium. He is a jury member of the Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland, and member of the ecumenical jury of the Dhaka Film Festival, Bangladesh.


These judges will assess all qualifying entries according to these factors:

  • Originality of the story idea
  • Innovative presentation in an engaging, non-technical style
  • Potential for effective communication of rice issues in the Asia Pacific region
  • Clever use of available technological facilities


The decision of the judges will be final, binding, and not open to challenge. The judges and organisers reserve the right not to present an award if entries do not meet minimum quality standards.


Results are expected to be announced by April 2009.
11. Prize: The winner will receive the following:
  • US Dollars Two Thousand (US$ 2,000) in cash / cheque
  • An Asia Pacific Rice Film Award plaque
  • An Asia Pacific Rice Film Award certificate


All communications in this connection should be addressed to:


THE SAVE OUR RICE CAMPAIGN
Asia Pacific Rice Film Award Secretariat
Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP)
P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
FOR COURIER: 54, Lorong Batu Uban 1, Century Gardens, 11700 Penang, Malaysia.


Tel: 60 4 657 0271 or 656 0381
Fax: 60 4 658 3960
Email: panap@panap.net
Website: www.panap.net