Two local filmmakers win at this year’s Asian Project Market in Busan

By Baek Byung-yeul

The Asian Project Market (APM), Asia’s biggest film investment and co-production market, selected 11 award-winning projects from Asian filmmakers for their upcoming productions.

The four-day event, held alongside the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), ran from Saturday to Tuesday. At the awards ceremony, 11 Asian-led projects were chosen among 30 entries from 17 countries, with filmmakers securing funding for future production opportunities.

Two Korean directors — Sohn Hyun-lok and Shin A-ga — had their upcoming productions selected among the 11 award-winning projects.

This year’s event facilitated 706 business meetings with 156 filmmakers and industry professionals from 142 companies, the event’s organizer said.

The APM is Asia’s first and largest investment and co-production market for upcoming film projects in development or production worldwide. Each year, it discovers original and innovative emerging projects ranging from blockbusters to low-budget films and arranges meetings between selected projects and global investors, producers and distributors.

The organizer noted that among this year’s selected film projects, Korean films stood out as indie productions combined genre elements with mainstream appeal.

“Korean independent film projects showed strength in pursuing both genre experimentation and public resonance, brightening the future of Korean cinema,” the organizer said. “International projects demonstrated high quality through the combination of veteran producers’ expertise and rookie directors’ passion.”

Among this year’s 30 projects, Chinese director Kang Bo’s “Kingdom of the Insomniacs” won the Busan Award, which provides 20.1 million won ($15,000) in development funding, annually sponsored by the Busan Metropolitan Government.

Japanese director Sotoyama Bunji’s “Life Redo List” received the ONE COOL Award, which also grants 20.1 million won ($15,000) in development support.

The newly established Songwon Award, offering 10 million won ($7,440), went to Korean director Sohn’s “The Birds.” Sohn made a name for himself in the Korean film industry when he won the International Federation of Film Critics, or the FIPRESCI, award at the 2023 BIFF with “That Summer’s Lie.” The film was recognized for its experimental and progressive spirit.

Director Shin’s “Hellfire Academy” won the KB Award, sponsored by KB Kookmin Bank. The film follows Sol, a seminary student who becomes entangled in a dangerous romance with a low-ranking reaper serving the devil.

“This year’s APM successfully concluded while presenting new possibilities through various international co-productions, raising expectations for the award-winning directors’ next moves,” the organizer said.