The Asian Cinema Fund just named its 2026 class. Busan’s industry market selected 12 projects from 798 submissions across three funding streams. Five titles are international co-productions. Seven countries are represented.
Variety reports the Script Development Fund chose three projects from 495 submissions. Each receives KRW10 million (about $6,480) plus a slot in the Asian Project Market 2026. The titles are Payal Sethi’s Babak, Mehrnoush Alia’s Bon Voyage, and Aditya Ahmad’s Goldfish.
How the Asian Cinema Fund splits the money
The Post-Production Fund picked two Korean features from 16 submissions: Shin Dongmin’s Not for You and Kim Miyoung’s Some Detective. Both get in-kind finishing support plus KRW3 million cash. Both are set for world premieres at this year’s Busan festival.
Seven more projects won Asian Network of Documentary Fund support, which can reach KRW20 million per title. The Asian Project slate includes Liu Shubo’s Floating House, Alyx Ayn Arumpac’s Tongues of Fire, and Sharon Yeung and Natalie Chao’s We Are Volcanoes. Korean documentary picks include work on mosque tensions, mental illness, Jeju 4·3 memory, and forced mobilization histories.
Why Busan’s market still moves the needle
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6–15. The Asian Contents & Film Market follows Oct. 10–13. Last year’s market drew 30,006 on-site attendees and about $71.1 million in sales-market deals. For Entertainment readers, the fund is less a trophy list than a financing bridge from script to premiere.
What to watch next
Watch which Script Development titles lock producers at APM. Also watch whether the post-production pair lands sales after their Busan bows. Documentary picks will surface through Doc Square’s works-in-progress showcase.