The Asian Cinema Fund (ACF), a support programme of Busan International Film Festival, has announced 14 selections for its 2023 funding round.
Three Asian projects have been selected for script development support, which includes a cash grant of KRW10m and an invitation to Busan’s Asian Project Market (APM) to meet with potential distributors, festivals and funders.
The three projects include Chronicles Of A Confession, from Indian filmmaker Prateek Vats (Eeb Allay Ooo!); To Kill A Mongolian Horse, the debut feature of Chinese director Jiang Xiaoxuan, and Where The Rivers Run South, from Nepali director Suraj Paudel, who is a BIFF Asian Film Academy alumni.
Jiang received the NETPAC Award at the 2023 Busan International Short Film Festival for short film, Graveyard Of Horses.
ACF’s Post-Production Fund is supporting two Korean projects – Lee Mirang’s Concerning My Daughter and Park Hongjun’s Lay Off (working title) – as well as Solids By The Seashore, from Thai filmmaker Patiparn Boontarig, and The Spark from veteran Indian director Rajesh S. Jala.
The four projects will receive post-production funding and make their world premieres at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 4-13, 2023).
Asian Network of Documentary (AND) is awarding grants to seven feature-length documentaries, four of which are Korean – Won Taewoong’s Plaster Cast Drawing, Jo Seyoung’s K-Number, Lee Ilha’s Being A Politician For Dummies, and Returning Figures by Kim Mooyoung.
AND is also supporting three Asian projects, including Fan Wu’s XiXi, which explores topics of life, values and human relationships; K.D.’s Life In The Shadows, about Afghanistan refugees, and Mok Kwan Ling’s A Thousand Winds, about democracy in Hong Kong.
The seven projects will be awarded a maximum cash grant of KRW20m, as well as an official invitation to Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (October 7-10).
ASIAN CINEMA FUND 2023:
Script Development Fund (3 Asian Projects):
Chronicles Of A Confession, dir: Prateek Vats (India)
To Kill A Mongolian Horse, dir: Jiang Xiaoxuan (China)
Where The Rivers Run South, dir: Suraj Paudel* (Nepal)
*2002 Asian Film Academy Alumni
Post-Production Fund (2 Korea Projects, 2 Asian Projects):
Concerning My Daughter, dir: Lee Mirang (Korea)
Lay Off (working title), dir: Park Hongjun (Korea)
Solids By The Seashore, dir: Patiparn Boontarig (Thailand)
The Spark, dir: Rajesh S. Jala (India)
Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund (4 Korean Projects, 3 Asian Projects):
Being A Politician For Dummies, dir: Lee Ilha (Korea)
K-Number, dir: Jo Seyoung (Korea)
Life In The Shadows, dir: K.D. (Afghanistan, Germany)
Plaster Cast Drawing, dir: Wong Taewoong (Korea)
Returning Figures, dir: Kim Mooyoung (Korea)
A Thousand Winds, dir: Mok Kwan Ling (Hong Kong, China)
XiXi, dir: Fan Wu (Taiwan, Korea, Philippines)