Busan's Asian Film Market opens at new venue

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)'s Asian Film Market opened yesterday for the first time in its new venue at the Busan Exhibition Convention Center (BEXCO). The market has reported a 67% increase in sales booths and a 24% increase in participant registration since last year.

Sales companies include Korean ones such as Finecut, CJ, Showbox, Lotte, Mirovision and Indiestory, and foreign companies such as Lakeshore Entertainment, Voltage, Golden Harvest, Gmm Tai Hub, Toei, NTV, and Kadokawa Shoten.

After years of moving around divided venues, the 6th Asian Film Market has brought together all its sales booths, project market meetings, and BIFCOM (Busan International Film Commissions and Industry Showcase) into one building, on a single floor to facilitate meetings and networking.

The Asian Film Market screenings this year will present a total of 62 films – up from 39 last year – from 37 companies from 15 different countries. The screenings include 19 Japanese, 16 Korean, five Italian and four Taiwanese films. Korean courtroom thriller The Client and hit animationLeafie, A Hen Into The Wildare amongst those that are screening. Market screenings run until Oct. 12.

The market also holds online screenings of festival and market titles as well as 26 films from the Asian Project Market (APM) directors' filmography. BIFF and Asian Film Market this year have created a partnership with online screening websites Festival Scope and Cinando so that members of those sites can also have access to selected BIFF and APM titles. The online market screenings will be available until Oct. 31.

The newly renamed Asian Project Market (APM), formerly known as the Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP), is presenting 30 titles from established veterans and up-and-coming new directors. This year's APM directors includeHeo Jin-howith a Chinese adaptation of the French novel "Dangerous Liaisons" which he announced, earlier in the festival, will starFan Bingbingand Leehom WANG as well asOn Joo-wan.Ryoo Seung-wanhas brought an espionage film and "Night Fishing" co-directorPark Chan-kyonghas brought a shamanistic horror film.

The Asian Film Market is also hosting programs such as the EAVE: Ties that Bind workshop, co-organized with the Udine Far East Film Festival, the Korean Contents Fund Showcase, a talent managers' networking event and the Asia-Pacific Producers Network (APN) Round Table.

The market will run Oct. 10 – 13, parallel to the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Oct. 6 – 14.