The Asian Cinema Fund (ACF), the flagship financing branch of the Busan International Film Festival, unveiled its 14 official selections for 2025 following a period of record submission which saw the requests of 23% to 850 projects.
The fund, which operates under the Asian market of content and film (ACFM), provides financial and institutional support for Korean filmmakers and through Asia throughout the development, post-production and documentaries phases. The projects supported by the ACF have always gained ground in the main international film festivals, cementing the role of the initiative in the amplification of independent Asian cinema in the world.
Following an in-depth examination process evaluating the creative potential and the maturity of the project, the fund awarded three projects to its script development fund, four to the post-production fund and seven to the Asian Documentary Fund (and). The selections show what the organizers describe as “daring visions and critical perspectives which present the voice in the evolution of contemporary Asian cinema”.
The script development fund, from 478 submissions in its most competitive round to date, has selected three projects to examine the protagonists confronted and resist their realities. “Black Star Angel” by Christine Haroutounian (Armenia) follows a woman’s struggle to escape a life defined by war, violence and trauma. “Heaven Help Us!” From Eve Baswel! (Philippines) revisits the collapse of the tragic of the Manila film center in the 1980s, focusing on individual stories rather than the treatment of victims as well as statistics. The “new life” of Li Yingtong (China) offers an intimate portrait of a mother and a daughter supporting each other after the death of their husband and her father.
Each project receives a KRW10 million subsidy ($ 7,300) plus an invitation to the Asian project market (APM) 2025, giving access to industry stakeholders through commercial meetings and networking possibilities. Li Yingtong graduated from the Chanel X Biff Asia Film Academy 2024.
From 75 submissions, the Post-Production Fund selected four feature films scheduled for the world’s primary at the 30th International Busan Film Festival in September. The Korean selections include “Coming of Age” by Jeong Seung-O, which captures various perspectives through generations and social classes, and the “observer’s newspaper” by Lim Junghwan, mixing tension and humor in surreal circumstances.
International choices present “If we have Winter’s Night” by Sanju Surendran (India), offering strata views of Indian society through the intertwined stories of several couples, and the river that holds its hands “by Chen Jianhang” (Hong Kong / China / Vietnam), following the journey of a man reflecting on the diaspora of the Chinese ethnic minority.
The fund and the fund selected seven recognized length documentaries for an inventive form and convincing approaches. Four Korean projects explore society, space and memory through unique objectives: “our complex” of Cho Hanna reflects on the transformation of Yeosu through expo, industrial and tourist developments; The “sea, star, woman” of Yim Jouinghae (Korea / France) presents a personal survey on the disappearance of a mother; The “Mpraine Potato Potato by Yang Dayeon on life” revisits a demolished district of the Seoul hills; And “the architect of the inayes” by Kwon Sunhyeon examines memory and temporality in the changing landscape of Seoul thanks to the philosophy of the veteran architect Joh Sung-Yong.
Asian selections include the “kampuchea” of Neary Adeline Hay (Cambodia / France), examining the intergenerational trauma of violence; “OMA” by Armin Septiexan (Indonesia / Philippines / France / Netherlands), presenting a survivor confronted with the past; And the Myanmar project of Min eh. These documentaries will be presented in sessions and words and share sessions on the Asian market and cinema market.
The 30th International Busan Film Festival takes place from September 17 to 26 around the Busan Cinema Center, the 20th Asian Content and Cinema market which takes place from September 20 to 23 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center.
