Aussie films The Turning, Tracks and actor Aaron Pedersen in running for APSA awards Aaron Pedersen has been nominated for best actor at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for his role in Mystery Road. TIM Winton movie The Turning and actor Aaron Pedersen are among a record-equalling batch of Australian nominees in the running for our region's answer to the Oscars. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) span 70 countries with a population of 4.5 billion people. The region is said to be responsible for half the world's film output. The APSAs will be handed out in a ceremony at Brisbane's City Hall on December 12. There's so many countries involved. It's a big, regional, Asia Pacific Oscars, in a way," Pedersen told News Corp Australia yesterday after learning of his nomination for Best Performance by an Actor. Pedersen's nod for his role in director Ivan Sena's murder thriller Mystery Road puts the Aussie up against Korean star Lee Byung-hun (Masquerade), Japan's Tatsuya Nakadai (Japan's Tragedy), Palestine's Adam Bakri (Omar) and Kazakhstan's Yerbolat Tozuzakov (The Old Man). I haven't had a chance to see the films of the other nominees, but it's exciting being up against countries like Japan, Korea, Palestine and Kazakhstan. It just gives it so much more of a worldly feel," Pedersen said. 'For me, the nomination says a lot about Mystery Road accomplishing Ivan's vision that it really resonates the world over. Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker has scored a nod for Tracks, starring Mia Wasikowska. It is the first time an Australian has been nomiated for cinematography at the APSAs. The Turning, in which 17 local directors each brought to life a Feature Film based on a collection of Tim Winton short stories, is nominated for Best Film, along with Like Father, Like Son (Japan), Omar (Palestine), The Past (which is also Iran's official submission for the Oscars), Television (Bangladesh) and With You, Without You (Sri Lanka). The Turning has grossed over $1.1 million dollars in Australian cinemas in a limited, theatre-style release. Rose Byrne stars in a segment of the film. "I think I speak for our entire team when I say that it is truly humbling to be nominated for the leading film award in the entire Asia Pacific region," the movie's producer,Robert Connolly, said in a statement. Mandy Walker's nomination for Achievement in Cinematography for the outback drama Tracks is the first ever for an Australian in that category. Starring Mia Wasikowska as desert adventurer Robyn Davidson, Tracks premiered in Venice and opens locally in March. Twenty-one countries received nominations in the 7th APSAs. Australia's three nominations matches the country's previous best and is behind only India (four nominations), Palestine (five) and Japan (six). Many of the nominated films from around the region, such as New Zealand's Shopping and Singapore's Ilo Ilo this year and others will have local releases in comings months. The Awards are voted on by the region-wide APSA Academy, of which local legend Jack Thompson is President. Pedersen said of the APSA nominees: "They're diverse, strong in culture, they resonate in the same way but in a different language. It's an amazing cultural award, that's what I like about it. The Past (France/Italy/Iran) Television (Bangladesh) The Turning (Australia) With You, Without You (Sri Lanka) BEST CHILDREN'S FEATURE FILM Juvenile Offender (Republic of Korea) Leaving on the 15th Spring (Japan) Shopping (NZ) Wadjda (Saudi Arabia/Germany) When I Saw You (Palestine/Jordan) BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM The Act of Killing (Denmark/Norway/UK/Indonesia) The Gatekeepers (Israel/France/Germany/Belgium) Menstrual Man (Singapore/India) No Burqas Behind Bars (Sweden/Japan/Netherlands/Denmark) A World Not Ours (Lebanon/UK/UAE/Denmark/Palestine) Kin-Dza-Dza (Russian Federation) Patema Inverted (Japan) The Wind Rises (Japan) The World of Goopi and Bagha (India) ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING Anthony Chen for Ilo Ilo (Singapore) Emir Baigazin for Harmony Lessons (Kazakhstan/Germany/France) Hiner Saleem for My Sweet Pepperland (Iraqi Kurdistan/France/Germany) Hirokazu Kore-eda for Like Father, Like Son (Japan) Shahram Mokri for Fish and Cat (Iran) BEST SCREENPLAY Asghar Farhadi for The Past (France/Italy/Iran) Denis Osokin for Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (Russian Federation) Mostofa Sarwar Farooki & Anisul Hoque for Television (Bangladesh) Ritesh Batra for The Lunchbox (India/France/Germany) U-Wei Bin Hajisaari for Almayer's Folly (Malaysia) ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY Ehab Assal for Omar (Palestine) Lu Yue for Back to 1942 (China) Mandy Walker for Tracks (Australia/UK) Murat Aliyev for The Old Man (Kazakhstan) Rajeev Ravi for Monsoon Shootout (India/UK/Netherlands) BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR Aaron Pedersen in Mystery Road (Australia) Adam Bakri in Omar (Palestine) Lee Byung-hun in Masquerade (Republic of Korea) Tatsuya Nakadai in Japan's Tragedy (Japan) Yerbolat Toguzakov in The Old Man (Kazakhstan) BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS Ayca DamgacÄ± in Yozgat Blues (Turkey/Germany) Golshifteh Farahani in My Sweet Pepperland (Iraqi Kurdistan/France/Germany) Negar Javaherian in The Painting Pool (Iran) Whirimako Black in White Lies (NZ) Zhang Ziyi in The Grandmaster (Hong Kong/China)