Over 500 submissions were received from over 50 countries for the third Asian Festival of 1st films (AFFF), which was a heartening 100% increase since the inception of the festival in 2005. AFFF is a special festival that aims to applaud works of debut producers, writers, cinematographers, actors and documentary makers from all over Asia, and this year includes 1st time entries from Australia and New Zealand.

21 feature films and documentaries from 17 countries, including 1 from Singapore were selected to be nominees for 10 prestigious awards, such as Best Film, Best Cinematographer and Best Director of Documentary.

If you think this is just a small-time event which cannot be compared to the giants such as the Emmys and Golden Horse Awards, hold your thoughts. Although these weren’t the works of veterans, they certainly left an impression. With names such as Gordon Chan and Carol Haslam, who have more than 40 years of experience combined in the media industry and the selection committee, the AFFF is certainly no small fry.

That said, even such experienced producers only have praise for the works they have seen, lauding them as “extraordinary” and “eye opening”. Chan said, “I was really impressed by the works of these new breed of directors and film makers. They have already attained quite a high standard in their first films and that means that experienced people like me should go back and learn some more tricks to keep up with the new talent. It’s almost scary.”

Announcing the nominations was a stellar cast of local celebrities and personalities, the likes of May and Choy (from local movie hit 881) and Jade Seah (Miss Singapore Universe 2006), all recognised for their contribution to the local film industry. The nominations awards were held at HOUSE, the new restaurant at Dempsey Hill which is also the new place of inspiration for art enthusiasts.

The nominated films hail from Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Lebanon, Mongolia, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, USA and Vietnam. The themes explored in the films range from the World War II to an extraordinary 1st time film from Mongolia. Screening of these films will be at Golden Village Vivocity cinemas, the Arts House and HOUSE during the week-long AFFF from 27 November – 4 December 2007.

China, India and Australia are bagging the majority of the nominations, with 9, 7 and 5 nominations respectively and are vying for 10 awards. Weed, a film from China, is nominated for 5 categories, including Best Film and Best Male Actor. Weed is tragic love story about a wage worker who falls in love with a prostitute but ends up killing himself. A Touch Of Fate, a Taiwanese film, is in the running for 4 categories. The storyline is about a 15 year-old boy who runs away from school and meets a gang of pickpockets and a mentor who propels him to a tragic ending.

For the first time, Delegate Passes will be available for $100 for industry delegates and film buffs and at $50 for student delegates. This pass will entitle the holder to attend unlimited film screenings, the opening and closing night ceremonies, as well as additional networking sessions and lectures.