Santosh Star Shahana Goswami to Lead Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jury

Shahana Goswami, the Indian actor whose performance in the crime drama Santosh has drawn global attention, has been appointed president of the international jury for the 18th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, to be held on 27 November at The Langham on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The international jury will include Melbourne International Film Festival artistic director Al Cossar from Australia, Singaporean post-production supervisor and producer Ani Hoo, Māori filmmaker Tearepa Kahi from New Zealand, and Filipino director-producer Dan Villegas. APSA chair Tracey Vieira said the 2025 juries reflect the “extraordinary depth of talent across the Asia Pacific” and reaffirm the awards’ role in recognising cinema from the region. A separate Youth, Animation and Documentary jury will be led by Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara, while a film fund jury chaired by Hong Kong curator Kiki Fung will oversee development grants.

Founded in 2007 and based in Australia, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards bring together films from more than 70 countries and territories, often described by organisers as a regional counterpart to major global prize ceremonies. An international jury selects winners across categories including best film, director, screenplay, cinematography and performance.

Goswami’s appointment follows a breakthrough year for Santosh, in which she plays a recent widow who inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable in northern India and is drawn into the investigation of the rape and murder of a Dalit teenager. The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard strand in 2024 and went on to represent the United Kingdom in the Oscars’ international feature race, while Goswami won best actress and director Sandhya Suri took best new director at the Asian Film Awards.

Inside India, the same film has been at the heart of an ongoing censorship dispute. The Central Board of Film Certification refused a theatrical certificate, citing its portrayal of misogyny, caste oppression and police brutality, and requested extensive cuts that Suri has said would break the film’s integrity. A planned streaming release on Lionsgate Play was later halted, with the director expressing concern that repeated delays risk pushing viewers toward piracy while limiting access to a story about structural violence and discrimination.

For APSA, Goswami now arrives on the Gold Coast as both an award-winning actor and the face of a film that has sparked debate about who gets to portray state power on screen. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has described the city as a “creative crossroads for global storytelling,” a description that fits an awards night where jurors from across the region will rule on some of its most urgent new work.