The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), Asia’s top business platform encompassing planning, production, investment, and rights transactions for film and audiovidual content as well as original IP such as stories and webtoons will open tomorrow, Oct 5 (Sat).
Now in its 19th year, the ACFM has established itself as Asia’s premier business platform for the planning, production, investment, and rights transactions of films, video content, and IP, as well as for promoting industries from various countries. Revenue of the market for areas such as sales booths, advertising, badges, and conference slots have grown by more than 10% compared to previous years, and interest in the Asian Project Market and Busan Story Market is higher than ever. Busan Story Market, which focuses on IP transactions, continues to grow year after year. This year, a new networking platform called ‘Producer Hub’ has been established, where global producers can share information on film investment, production, filming and various support programs. Korea has been selected as the ‘Focus Country’, and a variety of programs, including speed meetings, case studies on international co-productions, producer talks, seminars, and networking events, will be presented. Additionally, the ACFM Conference, which has doubled in scale compared to previous years, will offer a diverse range of content that will assess the present and future of the Asian content industry. Notably, the AI conference has drawn immense attention, with pre-registration filling up rapidly due to high demand.
First, 253 companies from 30 countries will participate in the sales market and exhibition booths. In addition to the European Pavilion organized by the European Film Promotion (EFP), Italy and the UK have established their own national pavilions, and national pavilions from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Mongolia will also be present. Microsoft will participate in the exhibition booths to demonstrate its programs, including Copilot, showcasing the convergence of technology and content.
At the Busan Story Market, which introduces 47 original IPs (29 from Korea, 18 from overseas) selected through public submissions and collaboration with overseas partners, domestic and international content-related organizations and various content platforms will participate in business and networking, including rights transactions for adaptations. Participants include domestic broadcasters such as SLL, Studio S, Studio&NEW, Studio Dragon, Climax Studio, as well as production and investment companies like Nipictures, Alibaba Pictures, Showbox, and Megabox Plus M.
Now in its 27th year, the Asian Project Market boasts an impressive project completion rate of 44%, with 691 selected projects and 304 completed works over the past 26 years. Among the projects that were completed, eight films, including three selected for the New Currents section, are being screened at this year's Busan International Film Festival. Completed APM projects have been invited to major film festivals 778 times, with a total of 2,036 festival invitations across all completed works. This year, 30 feature film projects from 17 countries have been selected, with 13 categories of awards awaiting the most promising projects.
The Asian Cinema Fund, which supports the incubation, production, and completion of Asian films, has provided support to 13 works across three funds. The filmmakers of the selected projects will also participate in the ACFM, where they will have opportunities for meetings and project promotion. Platform BUSAN, a collaborative growth network for independent filmmakers, will see participation from 174 emerging filmmakers from 28 countries, offering them growth opportunities through various market programs, including seven exclusive sessions unique to Platform BUSAN.
The newly established Producer Hub will feature the participation of 123 global producers from 19 countries, selected through producer recommendations in partnership with eight organizations from seven countries, along with individual applications. Korea has been selected as the 'Focus Country' with 47 Korean producers participating, co-hosted by the Korean Film Council. Nine sessions will be presented, including speed meetings and networking luncheons for the participating producers, as well as discussions on support policies and the current state of international co-productions in countries like Korea, Spain, and Hong Kong.
The ACFM Conference will feature 28 sessions, including an AI conference that has been curated in-house, showcasing high-quality programs close to those of previous years. The AI conference, themed ‘The Film & Content Industry Riding the AI Tide,’ drew strong interest from the industry, with all pre-reserved spots filling up quickly. It features a panel of AI experts and industry leaders. Additionally, through the Asia OTT Conference, there will be opportunities to explore strategies for domestic OTT platforms to survive amid competition with global platforms, as well as the growth potential and storytelling strategies for Asian OTT. Furthermore, collaborations with relevant film industry organizations from Korea, including the Korean Film Council, Busan Film Commission, and Gyeonggi Content Agency, as well as from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Europe, and Mongolia, will provide insights into global film industry trends, project pitching by country, and introductions to inter-country collaboration policies, offering a wealth of rich programs.
The Asian Contents & Film Market, where the present and future of the global content industry will be discussed, will be held from Oct 5 (Sat) to Oct 8 (Tues) at the BEXCO Exhibition Center 2 in Busan.
▶ The 29th Busan International Film Festival | Oct 2 (Wed) – Oct 11 (Fri)
▶ The 19th Asian Contents & Film Market | Oct 5 (Sat) – Oct 8 (Tues)