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Chicago – The 19th Edition of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) concluded on April 13th. 2025, with the presentation of their first competitive film awards, on the heels of their 10th Anniversary gala a week before. HollywoodChicago.com was on the Red Carpet at the gala, reports on the award honorees and did interviews.

The first ever competition Apuc film festival presented the following at their screening hub in Chicago’s AMCNewCity … Grand Jury Feature Film Award to “Yen and Ai-Lee” (Taiwan) a relationship film between an estranged mother and daughter (see interview below); the Best Short Film Award went to “Wanna Die Wanna Kill” (South Korea), a shocking black comedy that spotlights filmmaker Jaehee Jeong, a striking new talent; and the Francis Kwong Memorial Award for best new or emerging director was given to Gao Peng for “A Long Shot.” (China). This second feature for Peng features an ensemble cast maneuvering...

The 19th edition of Asian Pop-Up Cinema announced the winners of the Festival’s inaugural jury competition, which saw 16 films in competitions including the Grand Jury Feature Film Award, the Best Short Film Award, and the Francis Kwong Memorial Award, recognizing an emerging director for their first or second feature film. The Festival also announced its annual Audience Choice Award winners.

Yen And AI-lee, the compelling drama exploring the love-hate relationship between a daughter and her mother from writer/director Tom Lin Shu-Yu, took the Festival’s Grand Jury Feature Film Award.

The Francis Kwong Memorial Award, recognizing an emerging director for their first or second feature film, went to Gao Peng‘s A Long Shot, a pressure cooker crime drama following a former sharpshooter who, after losing his hearing, becomes a mentor to his neighbor’s son amidst the desperation of those who were left behind by China’s rapid economic reforms.

Films and talent from China and Iran dominated the winners.

Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden has won the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on a night dominated by Chinese and Iranian cinema.

The Tibetan-language drama centres on an argument between a father and son after a snow leopard breaks into a sheep pen and kills nine rams. It was completed before the filmmaker died in May and premiered out-of-competition at Venice before going on to screen at Toronto.

German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who presided over the international jury, announced the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony today.

“Snow Leopard,” the last film by Tibetan director Pema Tseden prior to his death in May, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and later screening at Toronto, the film depicts the argument between a father and his adult son of how to deal with the title beast, which has descended from the mountains to kill sheep in their village.

Winner of the second-place Special Jury Prize was “Tatami,” a drama co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir about an Iranian judoka (Arienne Mandi), who is ordered by her government to withdraw from a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and is subjected to increasingly desperate pleadings from her coach (Amir). Premiering at Venice, “Tatami” is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Israeli (Nattiv...