All Dads Die

"Why did Dada die?" asked my three year old after learning about the passing away of her grandfather.
"People die when they grow old" I said a little unsure about how to deal with the subject.
"But Ija is older than Dada" said the six year old referring to her great grandmother "Why did Dada die before her?"
I wonder if sometimes politicians have easier press conferences than parents. How does one teach children about death of a loved one? What does one do when faced with barrage of such questions? Somehow they never give out a user manual with little children. You know the one with instructions that tells you what to do and when.
"Is he not coming back now?"
"No my dear he is not with us anymore but he remains in our memories".
"My friend Jack has gone away too, Papa has Jack died?"
A brief pause while you figure out how to explain the difference between going away to a place and the departure from our life of a loved one to a three year old. It was to be a recurrent theme in the conversation over the next few days. The six year old by the virtue of having spent more time with her grandfather remembered more. The elaborate games played with a very patient grandfather, the walks they went on and those long conversations on the toy phones. Then one day sitting with her younger sister she recalled with grown-up tone that only a child could muster. "I feel sad that you will never get to know how much fun Dada was".
"All dads die" said the three year old.
As I pondered over the innocent statement of a child I realized how true it was. As time goes by you find yourself morphing into your father. A face that starts to remind you of your father as you grow old. That and the DNA strains which come out in a laugh that sounds familiar. And fingers big, fat and squished in ways that scream out your heritage to the world.
So it’s true that all dads die, but a part of them still lives on inside us. We take on their roles as we bring up our children. We are dads now, working on memories that will remain long after we have gone.

The 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards

The region’s highest accolade in film - has attracted more than 180 film entries from 43 countries of Asia-Pacific.

New films by Aamir Khan (India), Johnnie To (Hong Kong), Majid Majidi (Iran), Ashutosh Gowariker (India), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan), Mai Masri (Lebanon), Ari Folman (Israel), Aditya Assarat (Thailand), Annemarie Jacir (Palestine), Benjamin Gilmour (Australia), Anna Melikyan (Russian Federation) and Vincent Ward (New Zealand) are amongst titles to be considered in 2008.

Entries in the second annual APSAs include the outstanding works of filmmakers from other countries as diverse as India, The Marshall Islands, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Iraq, Georgia, Indonesia and Afghanistan.

The Awards will be presented at a ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, on November 11.

APSA Chairman Des Power has confirmed that the 2008 submissions almost double the number of titles entered in the inaugural year 2007.

“In just its second year, APSA has been embraced by the burgeoning film industries of Asia-Pacific. The region’s filmmakers welcome the unprecedented opportunity APSA offers to acclaim their work and promote it to an international audience. In this mission, we are grateful for the support of our partners, CNN International, who this year will broadcast five programs associated with the Awards; FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations – and UNESCO,” Mr Power said.

“We are delighted too that APSA now partners with some 40 Official Submission Organisations that enter films on behalf of their countries and territories. Our highly credentialed Nominations Council also invite films to enter the Awards, ensuring that we have the broadest possible representation of films from across the region.”

The first stage in determining finalists in nine of the 12 APSA award categories begins in Brisbane today. Asian film scholar, Konrad Ng, from University of Hawai’i, heads the APSA Advisory Committee to the Nominations Council. Konrad and fellow Committee members, Australian film critic and commentator Peter Thompson and film critic and historian Adrienne McKibbins, will assist the Nominations Council in reviewing eligible films.

The Nominations Council then meets in Brisbane to deliberate from September 20 - 26 with the announcement of APSA finalists for 2008 to be made shortly thereafter.

Finalists will be announced in 9 Award categories:

1. Best Feature Film
2. Best Animated Feature Film
3. Best Documentary Feature Film
4. Best Children’s Feature Film
5. Achievement in Directing
6. Best Screenplay
7. Achievement in Cinematography
8. Best Performance by an Actress
9. Best Performance by an Actor

In addition, three major awards will be presented for outstanding achievement.

FIAPF Award
The FIAPF - International Federation of Film Producers Associations will determine the winner of the award for outstanding achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region.

UNESCO Award
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film.

Jury Grand Prize