Philippines Makes Film Grants Non-Recoupable, New Chair Reveals New Direction for FDCP – Busan ACFM (EXCLUSIVE)

A man accused of sending money to women in the Philippines to live stream the sexual abuse of children on Skype has appeared at court. Bernard Grace attended a short hearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court today (October 13) and pleaded not guilty to 17 charges over a five year period, beginning in November 2017.

Rebecca Souw Achieving a balance between artistic creativity and commercial appeal has been a key component of the success of the Korean film and TV industries, said senior executives at the Asin Contents & Film Market, held this week as part of the Busan International Film Festival. Leading U.S. producer Ted Hope said that “Being audience focused but ambitiously creating authored work,” is significant and that Korean filmmakers are able to tap into a wide range of emotions. Yang Yoomin, a Korean producer who has worked with hit filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, explained why such a discussion was important. She gave the examples of the Hong Kong and Japanese film industries which have both at times enjoyed international success, but which have recently been eclipsed. Hope said that Hong Kong films and Japanese animation are at opposite ends of the spectrum stretching from commerce and art films, but said that Korean stories demonstrate a balance between authorship and audience-focused approaches.

Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature, “Leonor Will Never Die” has quickly made waves in its early awards circuit, with recognitions including the Amplify Voices Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. As the film’s Nov. 25 premiere at the Metrograph in New York City encroaches, signifying the start of its limited theatrical release, Music Box Films dropped a first look at the movie with an official trailer. The film centers around Leonor Reyes (played by Sheila Francisco), a once beloved filmmaker in the Filipino entertainment scene, now burdened by old age, the grief of loss and financial hardship. The plot thickens when Leonor flips through an unfinished script she had written, and soon after, finds herself a character of her own creation after a coma-inducing head injury. Lying in a hospital bed, she envisions herself in the story of her script, bringing fantastical, genre-bending elements into the fictional drama.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kamila Andini’s “Before Now and Then” (aka “Nana”) topped the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film and best director. The film, about a gentlewoman’s memories of escaping from a Communist purge, narrowly headed three films with three nominations each: “Poet” (aka “Akyn”) by Kazakhstan’s Darezhan Omirbayev; “This Is What I Remember” (aka “Esimde”) by Kyrgyzstan’s Aktan Arym Kubat; and Philippines director Lav Diaz’s “When The Waves Are Gone” (“Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon”). APSA casts its net wide, seeking honors for cinematic excellence from 78 countries and territories defined as Asia Pacific. The awards will be presented at a ceremony at HOTA on Australia’s Gold Coast on Nov. 11, 2022.

Naman Ramachandran “Declaration” (“Ariyippu”) a festival hit film by acclaimed filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan and popular actor-producer Kunchacko Boban, has been snapped up by Netflix. The film bowed at Locarno and is playing at the BFI London Film Festival. This week it plays in the Busan International Film Festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema strand. The Malayalam-language film follows Hareesh (Boban) and Reshmi (Divya Prabha), an immigrant couple from Kerala working in a medical gloves factory near Delhi, and who aspire to go abroad for a better life. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, when an old video resurfaces among the factory workers, it opens up a Pandora’s box that threatens the couple’s jobs and marriage.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Rithy Panh, director of “Rice People” and “S21 The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine” is an icon of art-house cinema, at once political, unique, and charming. The iconic image may be another of his confections – a palatable work built on uncomfortable facts. On the incomplete evidence of a 50-minute on-stage dialog at the Busan International Film Festival on Sunday, Panh comes across as simultaneously contrarian and principled. A curmudgeonly veteran and yet a filmmaker still curious to learn. “If there were no Khmer Rouge maybe I would not be a filmmaker,” he said of the Communist insurgents, who won the Cambodian civil war in 1975 and whose brutality and atrocities he has spent a lifetime documenting and exposing.

Rebecca Souw TITLE: Behind The Scenes For Singapore-Korea Co-Production “Ajoomma” And Its Journey Ahead Post-Busan The past few weeks have gone by in a blur for Singapore-Korean co-produced comedy film “Ajoomma.” In a short span, it had a world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, earned four Golden Horse nominations including best actress, best new director, best original screenplay and best supporting actor. And Singapore has selected the film as itOscars contender. But it took seven years to get his far. At a Busan workshop on Saturday, first-time director He Shuming, co-founder of Giraffe Pictures and the film’s executive producer Anthony Chen and co-producer Lee Joon-han discussed the how the film came to life. “Ajoomma: The Curious Case Study of a Singaporean-Korean Co-production” was presented by mylab at the Asian Contents & Film Market.

Rebecca Souw Still riding high on the success of “The Roundup,” Korean indie film producer and seller K-Movie Entertainment, is showcasing a slate of 16 movies at the Asian and Contents Film Market, part of the Busan International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran The Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) has expressed its support for the strong contingent of filmmakers from the country at the Busan International Film Festival. There are 20 participants from Indonesia across the festival’s various strands. Indonesian content in the festival program includes: Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner and Toronto selection “Autobiography” and Kamila Andini’s “Before, Now & Then” (“Nana”) in A Window on Asian Cinema section; Joko Anwar’s “Satan’s Slave 2: Communion” at Midnight Passion; series “Blood Curse” in the On Screen program; and two Indonesian co-productions – the omnibus “Look at Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me” and “Stone Turtle” are also included at A Window on Asian Cinema. In the Asian Project Market, “Gaspar,” directed by Yosep Anggi Noen and produced by Yulia Evina Bhara and Christian Immanuel, features, and 10 young Indonesian filmmakers are participating at Platform Busan.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s Momo Film Co has boarded a raft of projects, it was revealed on the opening day of the Busan Asian Contents & Film Market on Saturday. Momo, in which Blue Ant Media’s Beach House Pictures has a majority stake, was founded in 2018 by writer-director Kris Ong (“Sunday”) and Tan Si En, who is a co-producer on Busan and Locarno title “Arnold is a Model Student.” Tan has boarded “Andragogy” by Wregas Bhanuteja (Cannes winner “Prenjak,” Busan 2021 title “Photocopier”) as a co-producer. The film will follow Prani, a middle-aged schoolteacher, whose angry video goes viral and she gets trolled online. Adi Ekatama is producing for Indonesia’s Rekata Studio (“Photocopier”).

Rebecca Souw Korean independent film sales agency, Indiestory is presenting four titles at Busan’s ACFM starting on Saturday. All were produced in 2022, and two of them “The Ripple” and “Dream Palace” are screening at the Busan International Film Festival.  “Dream Palace” depicts the lives of 2 people who move into a new apartment building, only to receive news that their new homes will be back on sale. Inspired by 2010 real estate crises, the film deals with the ordeals of losing a home yet extending compassion to one another. Featuring Kim Sunyoung (“Broker,” “Three Sisters”) and Lee Yoonji (“Good Morning” and hit TV series, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”), “Dream Palace” is premiering at the Busan festival’s Panorama section.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean sales agent Finecut has added “Secret: Untold Melody” and “The Dinner” to its burgeoning Asian Contents & Film Market slate. Both titles are sourced from a deal with Hive Media Corp. (“Inside Men,” “The Man Standing Next”). An adaptation of 2007 Taiwan hit “Secret,” “Secret: Untold Melody” is a romance film about pianist and a student. While the original film starred Jay Chou and Gwei Lun-mei, the Korean retread stars Doh Kyung-soo (a.k.a D.O. from celebrated K-pop group EXO) who has acting credits including “Swing Kids” and the “Along With The Gods” franchise, and rising star Won Jin-a (“Netflix’s “Hellbound”). Now in post-production, the film is directed by Seo You-min (“Recalled”).

Naman Ramachandran Priyanka Chopra Jonas (“The White Tiger”), Richie Mehta (“Delhi Crime”) and Anurag Kashyap (“Sacred Games”) are among the luminaries who are part of Awedacious Originals’ slate. Awedacious is a production company led by Apoorva Bakshi, one of the producers of Mehta’s International Emmy-winning Netflix series “Delhi Crime,” and Monisha Thyagarajan, who served as associate producer on the show.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It might sound cliche, but Dolly de Leon is serious when she says Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” changed her life. Because it did.  Filipino audiences have known de Leon from shows such as “Amy’s Mother” and “Mirabella,” while Western audiences might have seen her on the HBO Asia series “Folklore.” But the Neon release, out on Friday, it what has put De Leon on the map. “I’m getting better roles and better offers,” she says. Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast caught up with de Leon to discuss her role as Abigail, how she built the character and working with Östlund. Listen below.

Naman Ramachandran A heavyweight producers panel discussed the modalities of producing independent films in Southeast Asia at a mylab panel on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival on Thursday. Panelists included: Liza Diño, former chair of Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) who had greenlit several films during her tenure; Indonesia’s Yulia Evina Bhara, producer of Venice-winner “Autobiography” that’s also playing at Busan; Thailand’s Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, producer of Locarno and Busan title “Arnold is a Model Student,”; and Malaysia’s Haris Sulong, producer of “Beautiful Mind.” The discussion was moderated by Variety Asia editor Patrick Frater.

Malaysian-Filipino café Yes Lah has received a deluge of online support after it appealed to followers to be kind online. Owners of the café, which opened recently in Didsbury, made the comments after receiving negative reviews online.

Naman Ramachandran Celebrated filmmakers Anthony Chen (“Wet Season”), Anurag Kashyap (“Dobaaraa”), Ifa Isfansyah (“Losmen Bu Broto”), Joko Anwar (“Impetigore”) and Ho Yuhang (“The Ghost Bride”) are serving as directing mentors for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival. The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking. An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences. 

Busan International Film Festival. It has been a struggle for Asian film festivals and rights markets to return to normal as conservative governments and reticent populations warily and belatedly embraced reduced quarantine periods, the end of mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing. But Wednesday night’s hosts were at pains to stress that this year’s 27th BIFF is operating at full capacity. “I can’t tell you how emotional I am tonight,” said Lee Yong-kwan co-founder of the festival and now its chairman.

Rebecca Souw Leading independent sales agency Finecut has picked up rights representation duties for “Greenhouse,” which will play this week in the Busan International Film Festival’s Vision section. The director, Lee Sol-hui previously saw her Korean Academy of Film Arts graduation short film “Anthill” play in the festival’s Wide Angle: Korean Short Form Competition. With Kim Seo-hyung (“The Villainess”) in the lead role, the film tracks the pain and suffering of a woman who suffers a psychological disorder. Also new on the company’s line up at the Asian Contents & Film Market is revenge-themed thriller “Christmas Carol,” adapted from a Korean best-selling novel of the same name. Directed by Kim Sung Soo, who also made “Save Me,” a 2010 cult series on Korean cable channel, OCN. The film has the ingredients for a fan following among K-Pop fans as it stars boyband, GOT7’s Park Jinyoung.