The Asian Cinema Fund (ACF) under the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) announced the 13 official selections for 2024 including one from the Philippines.
The ACF is a support program of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) to discover projects by talented Asian filmmakers and to provide support from script development to post-production.
Miko Revereza's film has been selected this year for the Asian Cinema Fund (Photos: ACF, Instagram/paupaopan)
It has played a pivotal role in securing the diversity of Korean and Asian independent films and aiding the projects' emergence into the global market.
This year, the ACF received 689 entries from which the 13 recipients were selected consisting of three Script Development Fund projects, four Post-Production Fund projects, and six Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund projects.
According to ACF, this year’s selections deal with a wide range of topics such as women and the underprivileged, race, and war.
Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund projects
For the Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund, six projects were selected. These are:
Lovers' Discourse - Miko Revereza (Philippines)
Can I Talk to You? - Yi Seungjun (Korea)
Dew is Coming - Kim Taeil, Ju Romi (Korea)
How Love Moves - Pallavi Paul (India)
Qashqai Tribe: Once Upon a Time in Shiraz - Hamed Zolfaghari (Iran)
Waterfull Paradise - Kim Sungeun (Korea)
The ACF said Revereza’s “Lovers’ Discourse” film “maximized the potential of personal documentaries with its captivating mise-en-scène.”
The six fund recipient projects will be presented with a maximum cash grant of 20 million won (about $14,390) and an official invitation to the Asian Contents & Film Market, which will provide networking opportunities with industry professionals.
Script Development Fund
The Script Development Fund, which funds projects from Asia in the planning and development stages, received 306 submissions.
Selected this year are:
7 to 7 - Nemil Rajesh Shah (India)
Making a Sea - Lin Htet Aung (Myanmar, Thailand)
The Sickness of Yerevan - Ovsanna Gevorgyan (Armenia)
Post-Production Fund
This year’s Post-Production Fund selected two Korean and two Asian projects each from 89 entries.
The four projects, which will receive post-production funding, will make their world premieres at this year’s Busan International Film Festival.
These are:
As River Goes By - Charles Hu (China)
I Am Love - Baek Seungbin (Korea)
Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman - Nidhi Saxena (India)
Spring Night - Kang Mija (Korea)
The 29th Busan International Film Festival will be held from Oct 2 to 11 around the Busan Cinema Center, and the 19th Asian Contents & Film Market will be held from Oct 5 to 8 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).