Bangkok-based Purin Film Fund has revealed the projects chosen for its spring 2026 session, with a total of $160,000 given to four documentary and two fiction projects across its production and post-production grants.
Documentary projects include Sisters In War from Thida Lay and The People Outside From Jewel Maranan, which chronicle the lives of everyday citizens involved in armed resistance; and Once, Here from Pabelle Manikan and Araro Ariraro from Gogularaajan Rajendran, which recall in different ways the lives of labouring communities from earlier times that no longer exist today.
The two fiction projects are Dear Son An from Kim Quy Bui and Little Phnom Penh from Chhiengkea Ieng, both of which are written from the filmmakers’ family experiences.
“This spring 2026 session we once again broke the record for submission numbers,” said Purin co-director Aditya Asarat. “While it’s encouraging that independent films continue to be made in the region, the number of funding organisations remains the same, which makes the environment increasingly competitive. Projects must really stand out from the crowd.”
Purin Film Fund is a non-profit film fund that supports independent cinema in Southeast Asia. Previous funding recipients include Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s 9 Temples To Heaven, which is set to premiere at the upcoming Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, and Quang Nông Nhật’s Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava, winner of the special jury award in the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Reel.
Purin Film Fund spring 2026 grant recipients
Production grants
($30,000 for fiction films / $15,000 for documentary films)
Dear Son An (Vietnam)
Dir. Kim Quy Bui
Prod. Le Diem Ha, Mai Nguyen Zeimet
Prodco. A.T Sound Studio
As a single mother with cancer prepares for her absence, her nine-year old son drifts between faith and fantasy, facing adoption and losing her.
Little Phnom Penh (Cambodia-US-France)
Dir. Chheangkea Ieng
Prod. Daniel Mattes
Prodco. Anti-Archive
From post-Khmer Rouge Phnom Penh to early 2000s California, a Cambodian woman longs for home and belonging as her first love resurfaces over time.
Once, Here (working title) (Philippines)
Dir. Pabelle Manikan
Prod. Pabelle Manikan, Kristoffer Brugada
Prodco. Papaya Film Production
A fisherman and his wife cling to each other and their memories after foreign vessels take over the waters that once sustained them.
Sisters In War (Myanmar-Australia)
Dir. Thida Lay
Prod. Thida Lay, Maya Newell
Prodco. Lavender Production
Two brave sisters turn away from their family duty as daughters to join the armed fight against the military junta.
Post-production grants
($50,000 for fiction films / $35,000 for documentary films)
Araro Ariraro (Malaysia)
Dir. Gogularaajan Rajendran
Prod. Kumanavannan Rajendran, Elizabeth Wijaya
Prodco. Om Sakthi Films
Tamil folk songs from colonial Malayan plantations open a rare window for a family to remember and reimagine their faceless, voiceless ancestors.
The People Outside (Philippines)
Dir. Jewel Maranan
Prod. Jewel Maranan
Prodco. Cinema is Incomplete
A filmmaker journeys into the Pacific-side mountain ranges of rural Philippines in search of the unseen currents that sustain a deep-rooted conflict for decades.
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