Busan: Asian Project Market 2014

Continuing its tradition of selecting established auteurs and up-and-coming film-makers, Busan’s Asian Project Market (APM) this year welcomes directors such as Brillante Mendoza, Pema Tseden, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and July Jung.

As part of the Asian Film Market, which runs October 5-8 this year, APM will run October 6-8 at Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).

Select group

This year’s APM received 235 submissions for a total of 30 final selections. That is 14 down from last year, although organisers say they saw around 10% more projects from Asia and a small rise in international co-productions.

“Last year we had an excessive number of Korean project submissions - more than 70. I think this was a secondary effect of the Korean film industry’s slump that lasted until 2012. This year, it’s been normalised and we had 45. Mainstream commercial films can get funded by the mainstream Korean film industry now that it’s back on track,” says Asian Film Market director Jay Jeon.

Organisers estimate the number of APM participants will go up about 10% this year along with overall Asian Film Market attendee numbers. Jeon says that in addition to large numbers of European sales agents, the market is set to benefit from the recent South Korea-China co-production pact.

“We’re seeing a strong wind of Chinese companies eager to find co-production projects,” he says, noting Chinese internet video platforms Youku and iQiyi have quickly become sponsors of the market as well.

Thai critic and producer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, who will be at APM with The Master, says it “is a good meeting point for Asian film-makers to get to know professionals in the Korean film industry and film-makers around the world who participate in Busan International Film Festival”.

He adds: “Asian Project Market is a very important event during the Asian Film Market and a very important event of Asian cinema.” Several previous Thai APM selections such as Aditya Assarat’s Hi-So and Nonzee Nimibutr’s Queens Of Langkasuka have been completed.

Of previous APM selections that have come to fruition, this year’s Busan attendees will be able to see 13 films including Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President, which premiered in Venice, and Park Jung-bum’s Korean film Alive, which screened in Locarno and Toronto. In addition, the world premiere of Partho Sen-Gupta’s India-France co-production Sunrise, will compete in New Currents alongside Wang Wei Ming’s Taiwanese film (Sex) Appeal, which is making an international premiere.

APM 2014 Official Project List

Blue Sunset (S Kor-Aus-Fr)
Dir Shin Su-won
Prod Francis Lim

Clair-Obscur (Turk-Fr-Ger)
Dir Yesim Ustaoglu
Prods Marianne Slot,Titus Kreyenberg

A Copy Of My Mind (Indo)
Dir Joko Anwar
Prods Tia Hasibuan, Uwie Balfas

Diamond Island (Cam-Fr)
Dir-prod Davy Chou
Prod Charlotte Vincent

Doggy And The Gastronauts (Serb-Ger)
Dir Dusan Milic
Prod Undine Filter

Dora (working title) (S Kor)
Dir July Jung Prod Kim Jiyeon

Edge Of The World (S Kor)
Dir Sohn Soopum
Prod Park Jooyoung

The Family Ground (working title, S Kor)
Dir Yeon Sang-ho
Prod Lee Dong-ha

The Flag (Pal)
Dir Firas Khoury
Prod Hany Abu-Assad

Fowl (Phil-Fr-Ger)
Dir Brillante Mendoza
Prod Larry Castillo

Full-Moon Party (Viet-Fr)
Dir-prod Dang Di Phan
Prod Thi Bich Ngoc Tran

Hair Of The Dog That Bit You (S Lan)
Dir-prod Vimukthi Jayasundara

In The Beat Of Night (Iran)
Dir Mohamad Ahmadi
Prod Shohreh Golparian

The Killer (Chi)
Dir Pema Tseden
Prod Sangye Gyamtso

Learning To Build A Fire (Phil)
Dir Hannah Espia
Prod Giancarlo Abrahan

The Long Excuse (working title) (Jap)
Dir Nishikawa Miwa
Prod Nishikawa Asako

Lotus Position (HK-Chi)
Dir Liu Shu
Prods Isabelle Glachant, Liang Ying

Mantra - The Song Of Scorpions (Switz-Ind-Fr)
Dir Anup Singh
Prod Saskia Vischer

The Master (Thai)
Dir Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Prods Soros Sukhum, Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, Cattleya Paosrijareon, Attaphon Nabangxang

My Happy Family (Georgia)
Dirs Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Gross
Prod Simon Gross

No Land’s Man (Bang-India-US-Aus)
Dir-prod Mostofa S Farooki

Pokarekare Ana: Yeon-Ga (S Kor-NZ)
Dir Song Il-gon
Prod Sebastian Dong Hun Lee, Catherine Fitzgerald

Samui Song (Thai)
Dir Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Prod Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Arunee Srisuk, Rasarin Tanalerttararom

The Science Of Fictions (Indo)
Dir-prod Yosep Anggi Noen
Prod Edwin Nazir

Side Hero (India)
Dir Vasan Bala
Prod Guneet Monga

Sixty Nine (Chi)
Dir Zhang Chi
Prod Hu Guipu, Wei Yang, Angie Henle

To All Naked Men (Fr-Turk-Syr-Neth)
Dir Bassam Chekhes
Prod Behrooz Hashemian

The Two Kings (Thai-US)
Dir Nonzee Nimibutr
Prods Henry Ko, Sandra Gaviria

Unexchangeable (S Kor)
Dirs-prods Roh Gyeong-tae, Lee Woo

Vapour Of Smoke (US-S Kor)
Dir Lee Isaac Chung
Prod Eugene Suen, Samuel Gray Anderson