PRESS SERVICE

Asian Cinema Fund Announces

12 Fund Recipients for 2026

Projects That Expand Personal Experience into Broader Questions Facing Contemporary Asia

▲ Directors of the projects selected for the Asian Cinema Fund 2026

The Script Development Fund supports Asian independent feature-length fiction projects in the planning and development stages, helping them develop into stronger scripts. Each selected project receives a cash grant of KRW 10 million for script development. The projects are also officially selected for the Asian Project Market (APM) 2026 and formally invited to participate in the market, where they take part in business meetings with domestic and international film industry professionals.

The Asian Project category includes Babak, directed by Payal Sethi, and Bon Voyage, directed by Mehrnoush Alia. The AFA / BAFA Project category includes Goldfish, directed by Aditya Ahmad, an Asian Film Academy (AFA) 2014 graduate.

Babak explores survival, identity, care, and responsibility through the life of an Afghan refugee living in Germany. Centered on the choices of parents who lost their daughter under tragic circumstances, Bon Voyage explores mourning and responsibility toward others. Set against the culture and traditions of Sulawesi, Indonesia, Goldfish follows a 13-year-old boy who longs to grow closer to his father, tracing his coming of age and search for identity.

The three projects were highly regarded for grounding their stories in the specific realities of their respective regions while addressing universal questions of migration, family, identity, loss, and survival. Script Development Fund and APM business meetings will help the projects advance toward production and international collaboration.

The Post-Production Fund supports Korean independent feature-length fiction film projects that have completed filming and editing and are approaching final completion. Selected projects receive in-kind support from professional Korean post-production companies for digital intermediate (DI) color grading, sound mixing, English subtitle spotting, and DCP production. Each selection also receives KRW 3 million for additional post-production work.

This year’s selections are Not for You, directed by Shin Dongmin, and Some Detective, directed by Kim Miyoung.

Not for You tells the story of a person bereaved by suicide, with a form that closely matches the intimate world the film seeks to approach. Some Detective follows an aspiring detective novelist whose chance encounters outside the world of the novel lead her to confront her inner self.

Rather than presenting personal experience through familiar narrative conventions, both projects develop it through cinematic forms distinctive to their respective filmmakers. They will be completed with support from professional Korean post-production companies and make their world premieres at the Busan International Film Festival this year.

The Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund supports feature-length independent documentary projects intended for theatrical release. Each selected project receives up to KRW 20 million in production funding.

Representatives of the selected projects are invited to ACFM 2026. Depending on their production stage, projects may also be eligible to participate in the Documentary WIP Showcase at Doc Square, where works in progress are presented to industry professionals. The program provides opportunities to meet domestic and international producers, festival representatives, and distributors and to explore future collaboration.

The Asian Project category includes Floating House, directed by Liu Shubo; Tongues of Fire, directed by Alyx Ayn Arumpac; and We Are Volcanoes, directed by Sharon Yeung and Natalie Chao.

Floating House documents the life of a diaspora community struggling to find its place in the world; Tongues of Fire follows a rare reckoning in a nation caught between denial and accountability; and We Are Volcanoes documents the experiences of women amidst their search for justice.

The three projects stood out for their close, long-term observation of the people at their center and for capturing voices that seek to preserve dignity amid pain and trauma.

The Korean Project category includes The Alleyway, directed by Emmanuel Moonchil Park; Our Waves, directed by Jang Minkyung; Pellong Pellong: The Untold Glitter of That Day, directed by Jude Hwirin Kang; and When Words Return, directed by Jung Sueun.

The four projects address conflict surrounding the construction of a mosque, care within families affected by mental illness, the memory of Jeju 4·3, and the history of forced mobilization and war. Across the four projects, techniques including 8mm film, animation, archival footage, and reenactments bring to the screen stories of individuals and communities that have long remained unseen or unheard.

From Project Discovery to Completion, Presentation, and Industry Exchange

ACF provides a support structure that connects project development with completion, presentation, and industry exchange, tailored to each project’s production stage and characteristics.

Script Development Fund projects meet co-producers, investors, and production professionals at the APM 2026. Post-Production Fund projects are completed with technical support from Korean post-production companies and presented at the Busan International Film Festival. AND Fund projects are introduced to domestic and international film industry professionals through Doc Square, ACFM’s documentary industry program, expanding opportunities for exchange.

ACF will continue to discover new cinematic perspectives and promising filmmakers across Asia, providing support at every stage so that their projects can be completed and reach both audiences and the wider film industry.

The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) is the official industry market of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and is held in Busan every October. At its 20th edition in 2025, 1,222 companies and 3,024 industry professionals from 55 countries registered, while total on-site attendance reached 30,006, marking the largest edition in ACFM’s history. The Sales Market recorded 8,438 business meetings, with an estimated transaction value of approximately USD 71.16 million.

The 2026 Asian Contents & Film Market will be held from October 10 (Sat) to 13 (Tue) at Exhibition Center 2, BEXCO in Busan.