Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema

The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the instance and with the support of UNESCO, Paris.

Headquartered in Singapore, the NETPAC is a pan-Asian film cultural organization involving critics, filmmakers, festival organizers and curators, distributors and exhibitors, as well as film educators. It is considered a leading authority on Asian cinema. Since 1990, it has programmed Asian sections of international film festivals, introduced filmmakers from Asia to the world, brought out a compendium of the existing film infrastructure in different Asian countries, organized seminars and conferences and instituted an award for the Best Asian Film at festivals like Singapore, Busan, Jeonju, Kerala, Kazakhstan and Osian's Cinefan among those in Asia; Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Rotterdam, Vesoul and others in Europe; at Brisbane in Australia; Hawaii in the US; Antalya in Turkey and Black Nights in Estonia.

The NETPAC Award is given at select international film festivals to promote Asian cinema by spotlighting exceptional films and discovering new talents. Among filmmakers who have won this award multiple times are Sri Lanka's Prasanna Vithanage (7 times); China's Wang Xiaoshuai (thrice) and Hao Jie (thrice); the Philippines' Lav Diaz (thrice) and Brillante Mendoza (thrice); Malaysia's Ho Yuhang (thrice); South Korea's Kim Ki-duk (thrice), Jeon Soo-il (twice), and Lee Hae-jun (twice); Singapore's Boo Junfeng (twice), Royston Tan (twice), and Kan Lume (twice); India's Adoor Gopalakrishnan (twice), Shyamaprasad (twice), and P. Sheshadri (twice); Indonesia's Garin Nugroho (twice) and Riri Riza (twice); Iran's Rakhshān Banietemad (twice); Japan's Hiromasa Hirosue (twice) and Sion Sono (twice); Kazakhstan's Serik Aprymov (twice), Rustem Abdrashov (twice), Emir Baigazin (twice), and Nariman Turebayev (twice); Kyrgyzstan's Marat Sarulu (twice); Nepal's Kesang Tseten Lama (twice); and Taiwan's Doze Niu (twice).