Fiction projects from Cambodia’s Danech San and Indonesia’s Wregas Bhanuteja are among the grantees in Purin Pictures’ latest funding round, which also includes four documentaries.
The Bangkok-based film fund has selected Danech’s To Leave, To Stay and three docs for production grants, while Wregas’ Levitating and Quang Nong Nhat’s documentary Baby Jackfruit, Baby Guava have been granted post-production funding.
The three docs selected for production grants include Nhan Tran’s And The Mountains Echoed, following three generations of Hmong women; Tan Pin Pin’s Arts Centre, which continues the filmmaker’s exploration of the Singaporean identity; and Woven Bamboo Neighbour from Gama Triono who comes to filmmaking through development and social work (see more details of all six grantees below).
“This Spring 2025 session we received many strong documentary projects. Vietnam in particular seems to be set up well with solid training programs, doc-focused production companies and experienced mentors. And the result of this ecosystem can be seen in many interesting new films over the past several years,” said Purin Pictures co-director Aditya Assarat.
Purin Pictures provides production grants of $30,000 for fiction films and $15,000 for documentaries, while post-production grants are $50,000 for fiction films and $35,000 for documentaries.
A total of $160,000 has been handed out in this Spring 2025 funding round. The call for entries for the Fall 2025 session opens on August 1, 2025.
PRODUCTION GRANTS:
To Leave, To Stay (Cambodia, France, Singapore, Indonesia)
Director: Danech San
Producer: Daniel Mattes, Davy Chou
Production Company: Anti-Archive
Synopsis: Bored of her island life, Mera travels with her friend Bopha to visit a soldier she met online. Weeks later, Mera goes missing and Bopha’s search begins.
Arts Centre (Singapore)
Director: Tan Pin Pin
Producer: Tan Pin Pin
Production Company: BFG Media
Synopsis: Four artists in a shared space push creative and social boundaries, revealing the unseen labor, struggles, and transcendence behind their craft.
Woven Bamboo Neighbour (Indonesia)
Director: Gama Triono
Producer: Tonny Trimarsanto
Production Company: Rumah Dokumenter
Synopsis: Ludruk Irama Muda is an arts group of 35 transwomen who preserve ludruk theatre in Tobong, a building with bamboo walls, a rusty zinc roof, and a dirt floor.
And The Mountains Echoed (Vietnam, Singapore)
Director: Nhan Tran
Producer: Lai Weijie
Production Company: E&W Films
Synopsis: The crossed destinies of three Hmong women whose dreams are tied to migration to a city, but are drawn back by the weight of their obligations.
POST-PRODUCTION GRANTS:
Levitating (Indonesia)
Director: Wregas Bhanuteja
Producer: Siera Tamihardja
Production Company: Rekata Studio
Synopsis: Bayu aspires to become a shaman for the trance parties in Latas Village, a central figure to solve the crisis of an impending eviction.
Baby Jackfruit, Baby Guava (Vietnam)
Director: Quang Nong Nhat
Producer: Trang Dao Thi Minh
Production Company: Flaneur Films
Synopsis: A personal documentary about a conservative mother, mentally ill daughter, and gay son as they prepare for the arrival of a baby into the family.