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The 22nd Asian Project Market Selects 29 Official Projects

  • Thursday, August 8, 2019, 1:19 pm
  • ACROFAN=Seunghee Shin
  • seunghee.shin@acrofan.com
The Asian Project Market (APM), the biggest investment and co-production market in Asia, selects 29 official projects for 2019.

APM, which marks its 22nd edition this year, is a business platform offering opportunities for investment and co-production by introducing promising film projects from around the world to film industry professionals. Since its inception in 1998, APM has presented 556 projects and represents a center of creativity that has kick-started numerous noteworthy and exceptional films.

Diverse Projects Seek Co-production Opportunities at APM 2019
APM received 384 projects from 60 countries, among which 29 projects were finally selected after a fierce competition. This year, numerous projects were submitted from India, the Philippines, and Japan. APM has also seen a continuous increase in the number of co-produced projects between diverse countries such as France, the United States, Nepal, and Malaysia.

Projects to note include the following: Silah and the Man with Two Names, the new project by director Yosep Anggi Noen whose latest film The Science of Fiction (Indonesia / APM 2014) is invited to the competition section of the Locarno Film Festival 2019; Black and White Photo (Nepal, Hong Kong (China), France) by director Rajesh Prasad Khatri, which was selected to receive the Script Development Fund of Asian Cinema Fund this year; The Rain Bride (Kurdistan (Iraq)) by Hussein Hassan, the director of the closing film The Dark Wind at Busan International Film Festival 2016; and Mother Tongue (Kazakhstan) by director Zhannat Alshanova who received recognition in many international film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival for her short film.

Many projects submitted from the Chinese-speaking regions dealt with today’s ongoing societal issues. Among them, The Courier Always Knocks Twice by director Hu Jia, Black Sheep by director Luo Bin, and Coo-Coo by director Chan Ching Lin were selected for their great potential to attract the film industry professionals’ interest to talk about the possibility of a co-production deal.

Numerous Vietnamese projects were submitted this year, reflecting the vibrantly growing film industry in Vietnam. This year’s projects from Vietnam include Skin of Youth by director Ash Mayfair, who won the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018 for her previous work The Third Wife, and Picturehouse by director Nguyen-Vo Minh.

From Commercial to Independent, Finest Selection of Korean Projects
Eight Korean projects of diverse genres were chosen for the APM this year. Cart (2014) director Boo Jiyoung’s About Daughter is a project based on a novel of the same title and written by Kim Hyejin. A regular at multiple international film festivals, director Jang Kunjae will present A House with Ghosts, the script of which will be worked on by the renowned Japanese writer Yoshimoto Banana. Root Story by director Cho Minjae, who is known for his outstanding creativity, is expected to attract much attention.

Projects by the rising stars in the Korean commercial film scene include The Scarecrow by director Han Junhee, Moon Chasers by director Kim Jinhwang, and The Child by director Kang Donghun. Winter Worm, Summer Grass by director Kang Sangwoo, and Good Day by director Kim Mooyoung will represent the projects by the future leaders of the Korean independent film scene.

The APM 2019 will present these 29 new projects for 3 days starting Sunday, October 6th to Tuesday, October 8th at BEXCO, Busan.