The Asia Pacific Screen Awards, a collaboration with CNN International, UNESCO and the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), announced nine members of its nominations council yesterday (May 20).

They included Philip Cheah, head of the Singapore International Film Festival, Azize Tan, director of the International Istanbul Film Festival, Anne Demy-Geroe, artistic director of the Brisbane International Film Festival, and Kim Hong-Joon, associate professor at the Korean National University of Arts.

The final three members of the council are to be announced in the next coming weeks.

The inaugural Awards will be held on the Gold Coast, Australia on November 13. CNN International will air an hour-long report on the region's film industry, and a ceremony highlights program following the event.

The Awards define the Asia Pacific region as 70 countries, stretching from Turkey in the west to Samoa in the east, and from Russia in the north to New Zealand in the south.