ACFM Announces 12 Selections for 2026 Asian Cinema Fund

The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the official industry market of the Busan International Film Festival, has announced the 12 projects selected for the 2026 Asian Cinema Fund (ACF).

The ACF is a film production support program designed to discover promising Asian film projects and creators, providing practical assistance tailored to each stage of production. It supports scenario development for Asian feature-length independent fiction films in the planning and development stage, post-production for Korean feature-length independent fiction films that have completed filming and editing, and production for Asian and Korean feature-length independent documentaries. Selected projects are also provided with opportunities to meet audiences and film industry professionals from home and abroad through various platforms at the Busan International Film Festival and ACFM.

This year's selections expand their focus from personal experiences to contemporary social issues, including identity, migration, historical memory, family and care, and conflict and coexistence. The projects stand out for developing individual narratives into broader social and ethical issues and implementing them through distinct cinematic approaches.

A total of 798 submissions were received, including 495 for the Incubating Fund, 16 for the Post-Production Support Fund, and 287 for the AND Fund. Following a review, 12 projects were finalized: 3 for the Incubating Fund, 2 for the Post-Production Support Fund, and 7 for the AND Fund. The selected projects represent 7 major producing countries, with 5 of them being international co-productions.

The Feature-Length Independent Fiction Film Incubating Fund helps Asian feature-length independent fiction projects in the planning and development stage evolve into high-quality scenarios. Each selected project receives 10 million KRW in scenario development funding. They are also invited as official projects to the 2026 Asian Project Market (APM) to conduct one-on-one business meetings with domestic and international film industry professionals.

This year, Babak by director Payal Sethi and Goodbye by director Mehrnoush Alia were selected for the Asian project category. For the AFA / BAFA project, Goldfish by director Aditya Ahmad, a 2014 Asian Film Academy (AFA) fellow, was selected.

Babak explores issues of survival, identity, care, and responsibility through the life of an Afghan refugee living in Germany. Goodbye focuses on the choices made by parents who lost their daughter in a tragic situation, exploring mourning and responsibility toward others. Goldfish depicts the growth and identity of a 13-year-old boy who wants to get closer to his father, set against the backdrop of the culture and traditions of the Sulawesi region in Indonesia.

The three works were highly praised for being rooted in the specific realities of their respective regions while expanding into universal questions of migration, family, identity, loss, and survival. The selected projects will solidify the potential for actual production and international collaboration through scenario development support and APM business meetings.

The Feature-Length Independent Fiction Film Post-Production Support Fund targets Korean independent fiction films that have finished filming and are nearing completion. Selected works receive in-kind support through domestic professional post-production companies, including Digital Intermediate (DI), sound mixing, English subtitle spotting, and the creation of Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) for theatrical screening, along with 3 million KRW in additional funding for post-production work.

This year, Not for You by director Shin Dong-min and A Certain Detective by director Kim Mi-young were selected.

Not for You is a story about those bereaved by suicide, and it was noted for how the intimate world the film attempts to approach aligns well with its cinematic form. A Certain Detective captures the process of a writer attempting to write a detective novel facing their inner self through chance encounters outside the novel.

The two works were recognized for developing their own unique cinematic forms rather than explaining personal experiences through familiar narrative methods. They will be completed through post-production by domestic professional firms and are scheduled to be unveiled as world premieres at this year's Busan International Film Festival.

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

Representatives of the selected projects are invited to ACFM 2026 and are eligible to participate in the DocuSquare program's Work In Progress (WIP) showcase, which introduces works-in-progress to industry professionals depending on the production status. This allows them to meet domestic and international producers, film festivals, and distribution officials to explore follow-up collaborations.

For the Asian project category, Wandering House by director Ryu Su-bo, Tongue of Fire by director Alex Ein Arumpac, and We Are Volcanoes by directors Sharon Yeung and Natalie Chao were selected.

The three works document the lives of diaspora communities struggling to find their place in the world, the rare confrontation with truth in a country conflicted between denial and responsibility, and the experiences of women seeking justice. They were noted for observing the lives of their subjects closely over a long period and capturing voices that maintain dignity amidst pain and trauma.

For the Korean project category, The Mosque Next Door by director Park Moon-chil, Blue by director Jang Min-kyung, Pyeong-Pyeong by director Hwi-rin, and The Time When Horses Return by director Jung Soo-eun were selected.

The four works deal with conflicts surrounding the construction of a mosque, the care of family members with mental disabilities, memories of the Jeju April 3rd Incident, and the history of forced mobilization and war. By utilizing different modes of expression such as animation, archival footage, reenactments, and 8mm film, they translate the stories of individuals and communities that have long been unseen or unheard into film.

The ACF operates a support structure that leads from project development to completion, release, and industry exchange, depending on the production stage and nature of the work.

Incubating Fund selections meet co-producers and investment/production officials at the APM. Post-Production Support Fund selections are completed with technical support from domestic post-production companies and are unveiled at the Busan International Film Festival. AND Fund selections introduce their projects to domestic and international film industry professionals through DocuSquare, ACFM's documentary industry program, expanding opportunities for exchange.

The ACF plans to continue its phased support to discover new cinematic perspectives and promising creators in Asia and ensure that projects are completed as films to meet audiences and the film industry.

The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) is the official industry market of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), held annually in Busan in October. The 20th edition in 2025 saw 1,222 companies from 55 countries and 3,024 industry professionals register, with a total of 30,006 visitors, marking the largest scale in its history. During the event, a total of 8,438 sales market business meetings were held, with a transaction volume reaching approximately 71.16 million USD.

The 2026 Asian Contents & Film Market will be held at BEXCO Exhibition Center II in Busan from October 10 to 13.


Reported by Kim Ji-hye
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.