City Busan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales agency Finecut has struck a raft of rights sales on upcoming fantasy-romance “Secret: Untold Melody.” The film, which will premiere at the upcoming Hawaii International Film Festival, tells the tale of a man whose promising piano career is cut short by a wrist injury. He returns to Korea and falls in love with a mysterious woman at his music college.

Naman Ramachandran The renaissance in Indonesian cinema is being celebrated at the Busan International Film Festival this year with 15 films, shorts and series being showcased. Hilmar Farid, Director General of Culture at Indonesia‘s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is leading a 50-strong delegation of filmmakers, committee members and media to the festival. Variety spoke with Farid about the country’s boom and its upcoming opportunities and challenges.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Crawling Angel Films and Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia are teaming on Busan Asian Film School (AFiS) alumnus Aakash Chhabra’s feature directorial debut “I′ll Smile in September.” The film is selected at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market. Akanga’s credits include Cannes winner “Tiger Stripes,” Locarno winner “A Land Imagined” and its “Oasis of Now” is in competition in the festival’s New Currents strand.

Naman Ramachandran “Where the Rivers Run South,” the Nepalese project at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market, has received support from the Asian Cinema Fund’s script development pool. The film, which aims to tackle head on two timely issues in Nepal today – migrant labor and patriarchy – marks the feature directorial debut of Suraj Poudel, who previously served as editor on Cannes-winning 2022 short “Lori.” Poudel is an alumnus of Busan’s Asian Film Academy, where he won the Chanel X award for most promising filmmaker award in 2022.

Naman Ramachandran Celebrated Indian filmmaker Rima Das is at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market with “Malati, My Love.” Like all of Das’ previous films, “Malati, My Love” is set in Assam, eastern India. It will follow Apurva and Malati who are happily married and madly in love, unabashed by what people in their small town think. When an unfortunate incident turns their lives upside down, in hardship, just as in love, they refuse to conform to societal norms.

Jessica Kiang One of the tiniest lived-in details in Bangladeshi writer-director Biplob Sarkar‘s debut feature — which is really a cluster of tiny, lived-in details — is the sheet of adhesive bindis that Kajal (a delightfully natural Ehan Rashid) snaffles from his mother’s dressing table. The bindis, or as they’re known in these parts, teeps, are worn by Banglasdeshi women of all creeds and religions, but along with an orangey-pink lipstick also taken from the dresser, for Kajal they represent more than mere cosmetic adornment.

Naman Ramachandran Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is set to continue its already extensive investment in Indonesia. The company will announce a slate of Indonesian films imminently. It is also planning to produce films and series that can be remade in other international territories, said Justin Kim, head of international productions at CJ ENM, which has production and distribution businesses in Indonesia.

Naman Ramachandran Producer Savita Raj Hiremath’s 2006 Bollywood cult classic “Khosla Ka Ghosla!” is being remade in the Telugu, Marathi and Kannada languages, it was revealed on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents and Film Market. Directed by Dibakar Banerjee and written by Jaideep Sahni, the Hindi-language film followed Khosla, a Delhi-based retired middle-class man who tries to get his land back from a swindling property dealer with the help of his sons and their friends. The Kannada version will be directed by Adarsh Eshwarappa (“Shuddhi”), the Telugu version by Vinod Anantoju (“Middle Class Melodies”) and the Marathi one by Kedar Shinde (“Baipan Bhari Deva”).

Seoul-based sales company Finecut has got off to a busy start at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) closing a trio of deals on webtoon adaptation Brave Citizen, and picking up international rights to inspirational drama Victory. 

Naman Ramachandran Celebrated Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and emerging Philippines talent Rafael Manuel have teamed on “Filipinana,” a selection at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market this year. The film will follow 17-year-old girl Isabel, who spends her whole day teeing-up balls for golfers at a country club.

Naman Ramachandran Iran’s Arsalan Amiri, who won two awards at Venice for his debut feature “Zalava,” is at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Project Market with “For the Girls of the Tribe.” Inspired by a real historical event that took place in 1905 in Iran, the film will tell the story of a group of peasants who rescue two girls among dozens who were kidnapped by rebels. The girls have information about a betrayal and are taken before the ruler to provide their testimony but he refuses to accept it, as, according to tradition, a woman’s testimony is only half as valuable as a man’s. “For hundreds of years before this event and even decades after, this situation has recurred in different parts of the world: a group of women is oppressed and most of society, the government and even some other women are silent or passive about it due to fear, benefit or convenience,” Amiri told Variety.

Actors and filmmakers Steven Yeun, John Cho, Justin Chon and Lee Isaac Chung shared their thoughts on the appeal of Korean Diaspora cinema – as well as how they see the current wave of content coming out of Korea – in a philosophical but relaxed press conference at Busan International Film Festival. 

Jessica Kiang Rather than horns, they look like tiny black catkins clinging to the grains on swaying stalks of rye. These little clusters — actually a fungus known as ergot — are a disease that affects the ovaries of their host plants, but can be made into an infusion that induces abortion in women.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The growing media and entertainment connections between Korean Americans and those Koreans living in Korea may be changing both communities, a public discussion at the Busan International Film Festival on Friday heard. “Being in a room full of fans, feels like they accepted me as a member of the family. It feels like, culturally, Korea [may be in] a moment of transition,” said John Cho. He was joined in the debate by actor-director Justin Chon (“Gook”), director Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and actor Steven Yeun, who are all either first or second generation immigrants to the U.S. They were careful not to speak about their current movies or projects out of respect for SAG strike protocols, but the avoidance of promotional niceties permitted a wider-ranging and more philosophical discussion. It touched on issues of identity, generational change and the development of the post-pandemic, streaming-era global village. “The reception I’ve had [in Busan] feels connective, not foreign, like living in a global reality,” said Yeun.

Naman Ramachandran Nabin Subba‘s “A Road to a Village” is a stark look at the damaging effects of galloping modernization in rural Nepal. The film had its world premiere at Toronto and is playing at the Busan International Film Festival in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ strand. Subba is a renowned chronicler of societal change in Nepal and his previous work includes “Numafung” (2001), which won an award at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, “Goodbye Kathmandu” (2017) and documentary series “Dalan” (2008).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean content firm Showbox Corp. has added “The Killers,” an unusual anthology film, to its Busan rights sales line up. The film takes its title and themes from Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story of the same name.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales agency, Finecut has picked up international sales rights to dance drama film “Victory,” which it will launch during the Asian Contents & Film Market that sits alongside the Busan Film Festival. The film, currently in post-production, is an upcoming title by Park Beom-su, a director known for a promising debut film “Red Carpet” in 2014. The story of “Victory” is centered around a high-school dance duo and an underdog school soccer team on a remote island. Two girls initially create a cheerleading club to pursue their love for dance, but they soon find themselves passionately cheering for the soccer team, eventually becoming a source of support for the entire island. The film stars Lee Hye-ri, a member of K-pop girl group Girl’s Day, who has become a popular actor with roles in “Monstrum” and TV’s “Reply 1998,” and Park Se-wan (“Life Is Beautiful,” “6/45,” “Collectors”) as the two protagonists.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.

In addition to her duties serving on the jury of Busan’s New Currents competition, U.S.-based producer Christina Oh will be meeting a group of Korean filmmakers at the festival to talk about upcoming film projects and attempt to build more bridges between the film industries of Korea and the U.S.

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for Bangladeshi filmmakers Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Nusrat Imrose Tisha‘s “Something Like an Autobiography.” The film has its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival, where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. The film follows Dhaka-based married couple, the filmmaker Farhan (Farooki) and actor Tithi (Tisha), who are under societal pressure to have a baby. Tithi conceives and towards the end of her pregnancy term an incident occurs that throws into sharp relief some realities of contemporary Bangladeshi society.

Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat, attending Busan International Film Festival where he has been named Asian Filmmaker of the Year, talked about the challenges facing Hong Kong cinema at a press event today. 

Naman Ramachandran A total of 39 European companies, surpassing 2022, will promote and sell films from the continent at Busan International Film Festival‘s accompanying Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM). Of these, 32 will be onsite while seven more will participate online.

EXCLUSIVE: EST N8, the international finance, production and sales company launched by EST Studios and Bangkok-based N8 Studios, has acquired world sales rights, excluding South Korea, to April Tragedy (The Daughters Of That Day), directed by Koh Hoon. 

The indie drama City of Wind, marking the feature directorial debut of Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, has been set as Mongolia’s International Feature Oscar entry for 2024.

Naman Ramachandran After 2011’s “Nobel Thief,” 2012’s “Uncle Shyamal Turns off the Lights,” 2015’s “Peace Haven,” 2016’s “Mi Amor” and 2019’s “Aadhaar,” Indian filmmaker Suman Ghosh returns again to the Busan International Film Festival. “The Scavenger of Dreams” has its world premiere in the ‘A Window On Asian Cinema’ strand. A treatise on social inequality, the film follows Birju (Shardul Bhardwaj, 2019 Mumbai Film Festival winner “Eeb Allay Ooo!”) and Shona (Sudipta Chakraborty, Ghosh’s “Searching for Happiness…”), trash collectors who live in a Kolkata slum with their young daughter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “I hope we can communicate and reconcile again,” said Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon on the opening night of the South Korean city’s film festival. With so much of the dialogue in opening drama “Because I Hate Korea” discussing Korean societal rigidities, group loyalties, long working hours and poor pay (which cause the protagonist to emigrate to laid-back New Zealand), it is easy to forget that many of these characteristics are what may have saved this year’s Busan International FIlm Festival from going off the rails.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Anthony Chen (“The Breaking Ice”) is attached to direct and Shinho Lee to write “Sunset Park” for Barunson C&C, a film and TV production subsidiary of Barunson E&A, the Korean company that produced Oscar-winning hit “Parasite.” “Sunset Park” recounts a surprising journey in the U.S. made by a Korean father with his son’s room mate, after the man receives tragic news about his son.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has been through a fair amount of drama this year. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief EST N8, a recently-established finance, production and film sales company, has appointed Chen ; Tata’ Xinrui as its sales and distribution manager. Chen will serve under Tenten Wei, head of studios for EST N8 and will be based in Los Angeles. EST N8 is a partnership between EST Studios and Bangkok-based N8 Studios that was officially launched at Cannes this year and operates under the combined moniker.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Equal numbers of Chinese and Japanese titles adorn the main competition section of the Toyo International Film Festival, which was announced on Wednesday – three each. Among the Chinese films is “Snow Leopard,” the last feature by the late Pema Tseden, and “Dwelling by the West Lake,” directed by Gu Xiaogang, the surprisingly inexperienced joint recipient of this year’s Kurosawa Award. The full competition with 15 titles, set to play between Oct. 23 and Nov.

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s “24 Hours With Gaspar.” The film will world premiere at the Busan Film Festival where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. Set in 2032 and based on the novel of the same name by Indonesian author Sabda Armandio, the film follows Gaspar, a private detective with 24 hours to live, who finds clues about the mysterious disappearance of Kirana, his childhood friend.

Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club, a new documentary that will feature Parasite director Bong Joon-ho.According to Netflix, the upcoming documentary is an “ode to the golden era of Korean cinephilia” that will take a look at the “young film enthusiasts who paved the way for the Korean cinematic renaissance”The upcoming film is directed by Lee Hyuk-rae (2022’s Sewing Sisters) and will delve into the history and members of the Yellow Door Film Club, of which Oscar-winning Parasite director Bong Joon-ho was a member of.“The 1990s witnessed an explosion of film clubs on Korean campuses, providing young students with a creative outlet and a platform to study the art of cinema,” said Netflix of the film in a press release. “Yellow Door Film Club was one of them.”In the new trailer for Netflix’s Yellow Door: ’90s Lo-fi Film Club, Bong and his fellow Yellow Door Film Club are seen reuniting to speak about the club, how it came about and its influence on the South Korean entertainment industry.“At overseas film festivals in the early to mid-2000s, people would ask, ‘Where did all these directors come from?'” Bong recalls in the trailer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney has given a green light to a second season of Japanese drama -horror series “Gannibal.” Set in a fictional Japanese village, season one of Gannibal saw recently relocated police officer Agawa Daigo arrive in his new home a broken man. Wrestling with his guilt over an event that traumatized his daughter, things started off promisingly for the new arrival before a series of alarming events quickly led Agawa to the horrifying realization that something was deeply wrong with the villagers and the mysterious Goto family.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Mo Abudu is an entrepreneur on a mission to make her native Nigeria a bigger player in global media. The CEO of Lagos-based EbonyLife Media is tapping into wave of interest from streamers in content from outside the U.S. and Europe to generate a flurry of deals for her production banner, known for producing the detective drama series “Blood Sisters” for Netflix.

The 2023 film festival season has wound its way from Sundance and SXSW through Cannes and Tribeca to the fall stops at Venice, Telluride and Toronto.

EXCLUSIVE: EST N8, the international finance, production and sales company launched by EST Studios and Bangkok-based N8 Studios at Cannes this year, has hired Sophie Changhui Shi as acquisition and production executive, based in Los Angeles.