sychai

SINGAPORE: This year's Asian Festival of 1st Films Awards has attracted very good entries, according to the Festival's selection committee.

Out of a record number of 500 submissions from 53 countries, 21 films and documentaries have been chosen to compete across nine award categories.

One of them is an Australian-Singapore production called "Feet Unbound" – a documentary depicting the tales of women who joined China's epic Long March.

The film is produced by first-time Singapore director Kee-Jing Ng and backed by an all-local team.

This year's line-up also features seven Australian films.

Organisers said this is the first time Australia and New Zealand have been included in the Festival, and these two countries have contributed to the unprecedented number of submissions.

The 21 nominated films hail from 17 countries including Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Mongolia, Germany and the United States.

The Festival is hosted by the Media Development Authority (MDA) and aims to raise the profile of first-time filmmakers.

It also provides a platform for film transactions to take place.

The winners will be announced on 4 December.