The top honor, Best Film, was awarded to "Guria," a compelling drama from Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili. Koguashvili shared the prestigious prize with fellow producers Olena Yershova and Boris Frumin, highlighting the collaborative spirit behind this ambitious co-production that spanned seven countries.

The award for Best Director went to Thai auteur Sompot Chidgasornpongse for his poignant film "9 Temples to Heaven." This multi-national co-production, involving eight different countries, demonstrates the powerful impact of international collaboration in filmmaking. Notably, "9 Temples to Heaven" previously received support from the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, illustrating the program's success in nurturing talent from the earliest stages of development.

Further accolades included the Jury Grand Prize, which was presented to Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat for "No Good Men." Nepalese actor Pushpa Thing Lama earned Best Performance for her role in "Elephants in the Fog," while South Korea’s Sim Su-bin was celebrated as Best New Performer for "The World Before," signaling a bright future for these rising stars. The Best Screenplay award went to Rakan Mayasi, Wahid Ajmi, and Pôl Seif for "Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep," and Vietnamese cinematographer Nguyễn Vinh Phúc was honored for his stunning visuals in "Hearing."

The awards also recognized excellence across various genres and categories. New Zealand’s Paloma Schneideman received Best Youth Film for "Big Girls Don’t Cry," while the Best Animated Film prize was awarded to "The Violinist," a captivating co-production from Singapore, Spain, and Italy. The Best Documentary Film honor went to "One in a Million," a U.K.-U.S. production by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInness, which sensitively portrays the life of a Syrian refugee.

Special honors underscored APSA's commitment to diversity and industry contribution. Isabelle Kalandar’s "Another Birth" (Tajikistan, U.S., Qatar) received the Cultural Diversity Award. India’s R. Gowtham earned the Young Cinema Award for "Members of the Problematic Family," and Malaysian filmmaker Haziqah Azemi was presented with the Forum Filmmaker Award for her project "Garek," a story exploring religious persecution.

A significant moment of the ceremony was the presentation of the FIAPF Award for outstanding contribution to film in the Asia Pacific to veteran Indian producer Bobby Bedi. Luis Alberto Scalella, president of FIAPF, lauded Bedi's impactful career, stating, "Through landmark films such as ‘Bandit Queen’ and ‘Fire,’ he has championed powerful stories that have challenged audiences and resonated far beyond India."

Looking to the future, APSA also announced the recipients of the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Five promising projects—Payal Kapadia’s "A Memory of Being Here" (India), Davy Chou’s "My Father’s Glory" (France, Cambodia), Taifeng Liu’s "A Place in the Sun" (China), Nicole Midori Woodford’s "Incarnation" (Singapore, Japan), and Zhanana Kurmasheva’s documentary "The Story of My Shirt" (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Chile)—will each receive a $10,000 grant to aid their development. Notably, three of these projects are directed by women, reinforcing APSA's dedication to fostering gender diversity in filmmaking.

Tracey Vieira, chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, encapsulated the spirit of the event: "From ‘Guria’ and ‘No Good Men’ to ‘Elephants in the Fog,’ this year’s winners remind us of the extraordinary stories emerging from our region and the importance of creating opportunities for these voices to be recognized internationally." With its robust APSA Academy boasting over 1,800 members across 84 countries, the awards continue to serve as a vital platform for celebrating and nurturing cinematic talent across the Asia Pacific.