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. In these 18 years 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, Pusan, 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 film makers who have won this highly-coveted award are Jia Zhangke and Wang Xiaoshuai from China, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Buddhadeb Dasgupta from India, Marziyeh Meshkini and Rakshan Bani-Etemad in Iran, Stanley Kwan and Ann Hui from Hong Kong, Kawase Naomi and Yoichi Sai from Japan, Brillante Mendoza from Philippines, Lee Chang Dong and Kim Ki-Duk from Korea, Roystan Tan from Singapore, Garin Nugroho from Indonesia, Abdullatif Abdulhamid from Syria, Prasanna Vithanage from Sri Lanka, Abbas Fahdel from Iraq.

TADAO SATO
Tadao Sato, born on October 6, 1930 in Niigata, Japan, is one of Japan's most prestigious film critics. Sato has published many books on film, and is one of the foremost scholars and historians addressing Japanese film. In 1996, Sato was awarded his Imperial Kunsho, and also became President of the Japan Academy of Moving Images. Director of the Focus on Asia at the Fukuoka International Film Festival. Sato still hones the sharp edge that has made him so important. He supports new directors, scours Asia for new talent.

MARA MATTA
Mara Matta is a lecturer of Modern Literatures of the Indian Subcontinent (La Sapienza) and of Tibetan Language and Literature (Naples-L’Orientale). She holds a Ph.D in South Asian Studies. Currently she is researching on the emerging cinematography of Eastern India.

LORENZO CODELLI
Lorenzo Codelli is one of the main collaborator for Trieste Festival della Fantascienza. In charge of the retrospective dedicated to Fant'Italia and Fant'America, he cooperates with Positif and has been correspondent in Italy for Variety Film Guide International. He collaborates with Variety Film Guide International and he’s one of the promoter of the Udine Far East Film and of the Pordenone Le Giornate di Cinema Muto.