Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced the 30 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market, including two projects produced by high-profile Indian actresses.
The line-up includes Difficult Daughters, directed by Soni Razdan, which is being produced by Alia Bhatt and her sister Shaheen Bhatt, along with veteran Indian indie producer Alan McAlex (Santosh).
Kani Kusruti, who starred in Cannes Palme d’Or winning film All We Imagine As Light, is teaming with the director of that film, Payal Kapadia, to produce The Last Of Them Plagues, directed by Kunjila Mascillamani. Kusruti attended BIFF last year as a jury member for the New Currents competition.
Elsewhere, the line-up includes several other filmmakers with ties to BIFF, including Indian director Pradip Kurbah, recipient of the 2019 Jiseok Award, with new project Moon; Bangladeshi filmmaker Biplob Sarkar, previously invited to BIFF New Currents and returning with LGBTQ+-themed The Magical Men; and Malaysia’s Lau Kok Rui from the BIFF 2022 Asian Film Academy, who is presenting Wake Me up When the Mourning Ends, with Soi Cheang, Stefano Centini and Wong Kew Soon on board as producers.
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The line-up also features five Chinese-language projects, with three from Taiwan focusing on female protagonists. Japan is represented by three projects from established directors Shiraishi Kazuya, Fujita Naoya and Zhang Yaoyuan, with stories revolving around the realities of foreign laborers, a reclusive woman’s struggle for identity, and a multifaceted view of what Japanese youth face today.
Seven Korean projects have also been selected from both emerging and mid-career directors, including Gilddong from Park Riwoong, who won the New Currents Award at BIFF 2024 for The Land Of Morning Calm; Arrival Of Water from Jo Heeyoung; Dance Dance Revolution by director Choi Hana (More Than Family); and The Descent by director Kim Hyoeun following her BIFF 2024 invitation for Tango At Dawn.
Asian Project Market (APM) will be held for four days from September 20-23 during the 20th edition of the Asian Contents & Film Market at BEXCO.
ASIAN PROJECT MARKET 2025:
*Supported by ACF Script Development Fund
Arrival Of Water (Korea, Japan)
Dir: Jo Heeyoung
Prod: Park Sejin
Black Star Angel* (Armenia, US)
Dir: Christine Haroutounian
Prod: Maxwell Schwartz, Christine Haroutounian
Bodoi (Japan)
Dir: Shiraishi Kazuya
Prod: Kii Muneyuki
Buy My Car (Japan, China)
Dir: Zhang Yaoyuan
Prod: Ichiyama Shozo, Kunizane Mizue, Mo Zhulin
Churching Of Women (Jordan)
Dir: Darin Sallam
Prod: Deema Azar, Ayah Jardaneh
Dance Dance Revolution (Korea)
Dir: Choi Hana
Prod: An Boyoung
The Daughter (Hong Kong, China)
Dir: Guan Tian
Prod: Vivian Bao, Ding Ningyuan
The Descent (Korea)
Dir: Kim Hyoeun
Prod: Park Hyunsuk
Difficult Daughters (India)
Dir: Soni Razdan
Prod: Alia Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt, Alan Mcalex, Grishma Shah
Disorder (Iraq, Germany)
Dir: Shawkat Amin Korki
Prod: Mehmet Aktas, Shohreh Golparian, Shawkat Amin Korki
Flying Cows (Vietnam)
Dir: Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat
Prod: Nguyen Huu Thi Tuong Vi
The Funeral March (Japan, China)
Dir: Fujita Naoya
Prod: Fujita Kanako, Shiina Yasushi, Zou Aiken, Zou Lin
Gilddong (Korea, China)
Dir: Park Riwoong
Prod: Yoon Minyoung
Gochi (Korea)
Dir: Yoon Eunkyoung
Prod: Stanley Kwak
Heaven Help Us!* (Philippines)
Dir: Eve Baswel
Prod: John Torres, Jules Katanyag
Lanka (The Fire) (India)
Dir: Saurav Rai
Prod: Sudeepta Sadhukhan, Viraj Selot, Ankita Purkayastha
The Last Of Them Plagues (India)
Dir: Kunjila Mascillamani
Prod: Payal Kapadia, Jeo Baby, Kani Kusruti
Lost And Cow (Thailand)
Dir: Thapanee Loosuwan
Prod: Chonlasit Upanigkit, Somprasong Srikrajang
The Magical Men (Bangladesh, Singapore, France, India)
Dir: Biplob Sarkar
Prod: Biplob Sarkar, Fran Borgia, Francois d’Artemare, Sankhajit Biswas
Moon (India)
Dir: Pradip Kurbah
Prod: Pradip Kurbah
New Life* (China)
Dir: Li Yingtong
Prod: Annie Song
No Country For Old Men (Taiwan)
Dir: An Bon
Prod: Chen Pao-Ying
Paradis Karaoke (Korea)
Dir: Byun Sungbin
Prod: Bong Suji
Sama (Canada, Afghanistan)
Dir: Brishkay Ahmed
Prod: Brishkay Ahmed, Bonnie Do
Silence Of The Looms (Bangladesh)
Dir: Mirza Shabnam Ferdousi
Prod: Rajib Mohajan
Silent Cry (Korea)
Dir: Jero Yun
Prod: Jero Yun
The Skull Oracle (Taiwan)
Dir: Laha Mebow
Prod: Eric Liang Zara Lin, Chen Yi Chen
Snake In The Dreamscapes (Taiwan)
Dir: Lou Yi-An
Prod: Chen Wen Wen, Kao Chun Ting, Hsu Guo-Lun
Stuck Like Babies (Kyrgyzstan)
Dir: Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi
Prod: Veronica Rhyme, Aktan Ryskeldiev, Fernanda Renno
Wake Me Up When The Mourning Ends (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy, Taiwan)
Dir: Lau Kok Rui
Prod: Soi Cheang, Stefano Centini, Wong Kew Soon