Koji Fukada, Makbul Mubarak & Rima Das Among Filmmakers Selected For Busan’s Asian Project Market

Koji FukADA, RIMA DAS, AND mAKBUL mUBARAK - Stefania D'Alessandro / Andrew Chin / Stringer / JALAL MORCHIDI

The 30 films chosen for this year's Asian Project Market (APM) have been revealed by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), including new productions from notable Asian directors like India's Rima Das, Japan's Koji Fukada, and Indonesia's Makbul Mubarak.

Fukada, whose previous films have premiered at Cannes (Harmonium, The Real Thing) and Venice (Love Life), will present the Japan-France co-production Nagi Notes by Osanai Terutaro.  Mubarak, whose Autobiography premiered at last year’s Venice before embarking on an awards haul across Asia, is bringing Watch It Burn, produced by Indonesia’s Yulia Evina Bhara, one of the producers on this year’s Cannes Critics Week winner Tiger Stripes. Das is a Busan regular who has also had films play in Toronto (Village Rockstars, Tora’s Husband) and Berlin (Bulbul Can Sing). She will present Malti My Love, which the self-taught filmmaker will also produce, just as she has produced, written, directed, and edited all her previous films.

In addition to Fukada’s project, this year’s APM line-up includes several co-productions between Asia and Europe or Canada, including Kim Quy Bui’s Mr Van, a collaboration between Vietnam and Germany; Hasei Kohki’s Japan-France co-production Sol; and Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana, a collaboration between the Philippines, Singapore, and the UK. The latter project is produced by Jeremy Chua, whose producing credits include this year’s Cannes Camera d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell.

Iraqi filmmaker Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji will present the Iraq-Canada co-production, Madness And Honey, produced by Maytham Jbara. BIFF also received many submissions from China and Hong Kong this year, while the volume of Taiwanese and Japanese projects also increased. Seven Korean projects are among the selections from filmmakers like Yoon Danbi, whose Moving On won four prizes at BIFF in 2019, and Kim Mi-young, who received the DGK Megabox Award at BIFF in 2021.

APM will be held October 7-10, 2023, during the Asian Contents & Film Market, while the 28th Busan International Film Festival will be held October 4-13, 2023.