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The 2025 Asian Project Market (Apm), scheduled to take place from September 20 (Sat) to 23 (Tue), has announced its official lineup of 30 film projects.

30 Projects from 15 Countries

Capturing Regional Voices and Creative Diversity

This year, Apm received a record-breaking 455 submissions from 44 countries, continuing its streak of surpassing previous records. As the largest co-production and financing platform in Asia, Apm plays a vital role in discovering fresh, emerging talent and connecting them with global investors, producers, and distributors, while fostering an ecosystem for pragmatic co-production and investment cooperation.

The 2025 official selections tackle a broad range of themes, including social inequality, family love, LGBTQ+ issues, gender, war, and borders, through diverse genres and deeply resonant narratives that highlight regional distinctiveness.

New Arrivals from Busan-Discovered Directors

Collaboration between Chanel X Biff Asian Film Academy Alumni

Several filmmakers with strong ties to the Busan International Film Festival return with new projects.

Indian director Pradip Kurbah, recipient...

Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has revealed 30 titles selected for the 2025 Asian Project Market (Apm), including upcoming features produced by Indian star Alia Bhatt, All We Imagine As Light director Payal Kapadia and Twilight Of The Warriors filmmaker Soi Cheang.

The co-production and financing market, which runs as part of Biff’s Asian Contents and Film Market (Acfm), is set to take place from September 20-23 in Busan, South Korea. This year’s Apm received a record-breaking 455 submissions from 44 countries.

Scroll down for full list of projects

The selection spans a broad range of themes, including social inequality, family love,...

The 2025 Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced its official lineup of 30 film projects, featuring notable producers including Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and “All We Imagine as Light” filmmaker Payal Kapadia among its diverse slate.

Set to run from Sept. 20-23 during the 20th edition of the Asian Contents & Film Market at Bexco, this year’s Apm received a record-breaking 455 submissions from 44 countries. The platform continues its role as Asia’s largest co-production and financing hub, connecting emerging talent with global investors and distributors.

Bhatt serves as producer on “Difficult Daughters,” directed by actor-director Soni Razdan – who starred in 2028 Busan selection “Yours Truly” – alongside fellow producers Shaheen Bhatt, Alan McAlex, and Grishma Shah. Meanwhile, Kapadia is attached as producer to “The Last of Them Plagues,” directed by emerging Indian filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani and also produced by Jeo Baby and actress Kani Kusruti, who served as a 2024 Biff New Currents juror.

The...

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...

Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest co-production market, has revealed 21 eclectic projects from several countries and in a welter of languages, for its 2021 online edition.

The selected filmmakers will pitch their projects virtually to a curated audience of Indian and international producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers and sales agents at an open pitch session. This year, Film Bazaar has also collaborated with the French Embassy in India which will be sponsoring the French Institute Award for one market project.

As is the usual case, the projects are a mix of festival favorites and debutants.

From India, Berlinale title “Eeb Allay Ooo!” editor Tanushree Das and Rotterdam title “Nasir” cinematographer Saumyananda Sahi make their directorial debuts with Bengali-language “Baksho Bondi” (aka “How Long Is Tomorrow?”), produced by Naren Chandavarkar (Rotterdam Fipresci winner “The Bangle Seller”); Tamil-language “Bommainayagi” (aka “Queen Doll”) by debutant Shanawaz Nizamudeen, produced by Pa. Ranjith, director of Rajinikanth...

Line-up includes new projects from Onir, Anjali Menon, Shyam Bora and Haobam Paban Kumar.

Film Bazaar, organised by India’s National Film Development Corp (Nfdc), has announced the 21 projects selected for the Co-production Market (Cpm) of its 2020 edition, which will take place online next month after being postponed from its usual November slot.

The line-up includes projects in 17 South Asian languages originating in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as co-productions with Canada, China, Netherlands and France.

International collaborations include Onir’s We Are, co-produced by India’s Anticlock Films and Canada’s Fae Pictures; India-Netherlands collaboration Dengue,...

4th edition of Arthouse Asia Film Festival has ended on January 11, 2020 in Kolkata with a grand ceremony. The week-long festival has been arranged by Arthouse Film Foundation and has acquired the reputation of being the most prestigious industry focussed independent film festival in South Asia.

Shapath Das, the festival director has said that Arthouse Asia Foundation will continue to work for the encouragement and growth of Arthouse Independent Cinema. The team will focus on schools and colleges to spread awareness and nurture new talent. The journey has just started and sky is the limit.

Arthouse Asia Foundation has partnered with Festival des 3 Continents and has played a crucial role in bringing ‘Produire au Sud’ lab in India for the first time. Produire au Sud workshop for screenwriters and producers is known for mentoring international film projects worldwide. Seven projects from India, SriLanka, Bhutan and Nepal have been selected for the first time.

Kolkata– January 7, 2020 – In its fourth edition, Arthouse Asia Film Festival is establishing a reputation as a relaxed, boutique event, with strong focus on independent cinema and a productive industry programme partnered with prestigious ‘Produire Au Sud’ for screenwriters and producers from South Asia.

“Weihai”

The day began with the screening of Chinese film ‘Weihai‘ directed by Liang Huan. The film has been shot beautifully in black and white and tells the story of a film screenwriter who went to a seaside town for ten days.

The day progressed with an insightful discussion about the landscape of independent film production in South Asia. Renowned Bangladeshi producer Arifur Rahman(Live from Dhaka, Kingdom of Clay Subjects) and Chennai based producer Mathivanan Rajendran (Nirvana Inn) have taken part in the session and shared their experience in the film circuit.

The session turned out extremely important and valuable to the film school students and...

Vietnamese drama ‘Rom’ shared the top New Currents award with Iraqi drama ‘Haifa Street’

The 24th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) wraps today (October 12) with the top New Currents Award shared between Tran Thanh Huy’s Vietnamese coming-of-age drama Rom and Mohanad Hayal’s Iraq-Qatar co-production Haifa Street.

The New Currents jury for first and second features, headed by Mike Figgis, praised Rom for its “amazing energy, and this combined with excellent performances and some spectacular camera work to make a standout film. The use of real, live locations impressed the jury greatly and the ending was very satisfying.”

They...

Vietnamese coming-of-age drama “Rom” and Iraq-Qatar co-production “Haifa Street” shared the top award in the New Currents competition section of the Busan International Film Festival.

The prizes were announced Saturday morning in Busan, South Korea.

Headed by British director Mike Figgis, the New Currents jury said that “the use of real, live locations” in “Rom” “impressed the jury greatly and that the ending was very satisfying.” The jury praised “Haifa Street,” as “a mature, grown up movie” made by a director that “exhibited a confidence and understanding of cinema language which set the film apart.”

The Kim Ji-seok Award, named after the festival’s co-founder and executive programmer who died in 2017, was jointly presented to Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s “Circus of Life” (Pakistan) and to Pradip Kurbah’s “Market” (India). Headed by Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the jury included Malaysian director-actress Tan Chui Mui and Korean film critic Huh Moon-young.

Elizabeth Ekadashi, directed by Paresh Mokashi, will screen as the opening Feature Film of the Indian Panorama section at the 45th International Film Festival of India 2014. The other highlights in the feature-film section include Kaushik Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi, Rajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi, Rajeev Ravi’s Njan Steve Lopez, Shaji N. Karun’s Swapaanam and Avinash Arun’s Killa.

The Last Adieu by Shabnam Sukhdev has been chosen as the Opening Film of the Non-Feature Film section of Indian Panorama 2014.

Feature Films

Title of the Film Language Director Othello Assamese Hemanta Kumar Das Punashcha Bengali Souvik Mitra Chotoder Chobi Bengali Kaushik Ganguly Bodhon Bengali Ayananshu Banerjee Jodi Love Dile Na Praane Bengali Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha Teenkahon Bengali Bauddhayan Mukherji Gour Hari Dastaan – The freedom File Hindi Ananth Narayan Mahadevan Ankhon Dekhi Hindi Rajat Kapoor 1-December Kannada P. Sheshadri Ri Khasi Pradip Kurbah 1983 Malayalam Abrid Shine North 24 Kaatham...