MPA APSA Academy Film Fund

Overview

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund is a script development grant program co-funded by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy (APSA). Established in 2010, the fund provides cash grants to support feature film projects at the development stage. For fiction films, the fund supports the transition from treatment to script. For documentaries, it supports the move from project proposal to principal photography.

The fund is exclusive to APSA Academy members. Only filmmakers who have been inducted into the Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards can submit projects. Non-members may collaborate with an Academy member who submits on their behalf. This restriction means the fund is not open to the general public, and access depends on prior recognition through the Asia Pacific Screen Awards or induction through other APSA programs.

For the 2026 cycle, the fund awards 5 grants of USD $10,000 each, totaling USD $50,000. In 2025, the fund awarded 4 grants of USD $25,000 each, totaling USD $100,000. The 18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony took place on November 27, 2025, on the Gold Coast, Australia. The 19th ceremony is scheduled for October 30, 2026.

History

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund was established in 2010 through a partnership between the Motion Picture Association and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards themselves launched in 2007, supported by UNESCO and FIAPF. Over 17 years of collaboration, the fund has supported dozens of projects from across 78 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific region. Notable past recipients include Lee Chang-dong, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Rolf de Heer, and Asghar Farhadi. Films developed with fund support have won the Academy Award, the Silver Bear, and the International Emmy, and have screened at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto. In 2025, two fund-supported projects premiered at major festivals: 9 Temples to Heaven at Cannes Directors' Fortnight and We Are All Strangers in Berlin Competition.

Award Value

The fund has changed its grant structure between 2025 and 2026:

Under the 2025 rules, grant funds were disbursed in two stages. The first stage transferred USD $12,500 electronically upon award. The second stage transferred USD $12,500 after the recipient submitted a first draft full-length script for fiction, or footage samples and an advanced project outline for documentary. The 2026 rules may differ. Applicants should consult the official rules for the current cycle's disbursement structure.

No stipend or cost-of-living component is included. Fund monies go to the Academy member who submitted each winning project, for disbursement to the screenwriter attached to that project. The grant is specifically directed at the writing stage of development, not at production or post-production costs.

Eligibility

Who Can Apply

• APSA Academy members only: The submitting filmmaker must be a member of the Academy of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. A full list of Academy members is available on the APSA website.
• Attached role: The submitting Academy member must be attached to the project as Executive Producer, Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor, Actress, Cinematographer, Script Consultant, or Cultural Advisor.
• Non-member collaboration: Non-Academy members may submit a project in collaboration with an Academy member. APSA Award nominees are automatically inducted into the Academy at the time of the official nominees announcement.
• Maximum submissions: An Academy member may submit up to 2 projects, but can receive only 1 grant per cycle.
• Previous recipients: An Academy member who received funding in a previous round, and whose funded project has not been fully acquitted, cannot receive additional funding.

Project Requirements

• Feature length: Over 60 minutes for fiction and youth films, over 40 minutes for animated and documentary films.
• Asia-Pacific origin: Projects must be creatively and culturally set within 1 or more of the 78 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific Region. Films must pass "The Test of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards."
• Development stage: The fund supports projects at the development stage, specifically the transition from treatment to script (fiction) or from project proposal to principal photography (documentary).
• Original or adapted: Adaptations require proof of underlying rights or a valid option on the source material.
• Chain of Title: All projects based on existing screenplays must disclose Chain of Title and proof of Underlying Rights at submission.

Past Recipients

2025 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Recipients

The 2025 fund awarded 4 grants of USD $25,000 each, announced at the 18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony on November 27, 2025:

• Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thailand, Academy Member) for Fiction, a fiction feature project
• Kareem Abeed (Syria, Academy Member and director) for Where is My Father, a documentary project
• Yosep Anggi Noen (Indonesia, director) and Gita Fara (Acad Member/producer) for The Sea Speaks His Name, a fiction feature
• Thien An Pham (Vietnam, director) and Jeremy Chua (Academy Member) for Heaven in a Wildflower, a fiction feature

Fund-Supported Films That Premiered at Major Festivals

• 9 Temples to Heaven (dir. Sompot Chidgasornpongse, 2021 fund recipient) - premiered at 2025 Cannes Directors' Fortnight and 2026 Sydney Film Festival
• We Are All Strangers (dir. Anthony Chen) - 2026 Berlin International Film Festival Main Competition
• Palestine 36 (dir. Annemarie Jacir) - 2025 Toronto International Film Festival Gala Presentation
• April (dir. Dea Kulumbegashvili) - 2024 Venice Special Jury Prize and APSA Best Film winner
• Viet and Nam (dir. Truong Minh Quy) - 2024 Cannes Un Certain Regard

What Made Their Application Stand Out

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund jury evaluates projects based on cultural authenticity and development readiness. The 2025 jury was chaired by Hong Kong curator Kiki Fung, with members Ngo Thi Bich Hanh (Vietnam) and Schuyler Weiss (Australia). What tends to advance:

• Cultural specificity that reflects the Asia-Pacific region. Projects must pass "The Test of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards," which evaluates whether the film is predominantly created in the region, by filmmakers from the region, and reflects the cultural origins of a country in the region. Generic international projects do not advance.
• A treatment or proposal that demonstrates a clear path to script. The fund supports the development stage, not production. Applications that show a project ready to move from treatment to script, with a defined creative approach, advance over projects at an earlier conceptual stage.
• An Academy member attached in a meaningful role. The submitting member must be attached as a key creative, not just a name on the application. Projects where the Academy member is the director, producer, or screenwriter tend to be stronger.

Renewal Requirements

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund is a one-time grant per project. It is not renewable as a multi-year stipend. However, the two-stage disbursement structure (under 2025 rules) functions as a progress-based renewal within a single cycle. The first half is paid upon award. The second half is paid after the recipient submits a first draft script or footage samples. An Academy member who received funding in a previous round and whose funded project has not been fully acquitted cannot receive additional funding. Once a funded project is fully acquitted, the Academy member can submit new projects in future cycles.

Application Process

1. Verify Academy membership: Confirm you are an APSA Academy member, or find a member willing to collaborate.
2. Download the Rules and Regulations: Available from the APSA website.
3. Check project eligibility: Verify your project meets all criteria.
4. Request the online submission form: Contact the APSA team by email to receive a link to the Online Submission Form.
5. Complete the submission form before the deadline.
6. Send supporting materials to the APSA Secretariat by email.

Required Submission Materials

For feature, youth, and animated films: One-page synopsis, treatment (max 8 pages, double-spaced, 12pt font), filmography and biography of attached creatives, and first draft script (accepted but at the Assessment Panel's discretion).

For documentary features: Proposal/Statement (max 8 pages) addressing what the film's agenda is, how the idea will translate to screen, who the key subjects are, and the applicant's access to those subjects.

Timeline

Submissions for the 2026 cycle are also accepted via FilmFreeway. There is no application fee.

What Filmmakers Should Know

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund is not open to the general public. You must be an APSA Academy member or collaborate with one. This means the fund is most valuable if you have already been nominated for an Asia Pacific Screen Award or have connections to existing Academy members. The key trade-off is that the fund supports script development only, not production. If your project is already in production or post-production, this fund will not help. The grant amount dropped from USD $25,000 per project in 2025 to USD $10,000 in 2026, so check the current cycle's rules before budgeting around the grant. The two-stage disbursement means you receive half upfront and half after delivering a draft, which requires disciplined writing progress. For filmmakers outside the Asia-Pacific region, this fund is not accessible. For those within the region, it is one of the few development-stage grants that connects directly to an awards platform and international festival network.

Watch

See Also

For understanding how development grants fit into a broader funding strategy, see Film Grants and Funding. To estimate production costs for a grant-supported project, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator. For planning which festivals to target after development, use the Festival ROI Calculator.