The Asian Cinema Fund (ACF), supporting program of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is accepting submissions for their Script Development Fund, Post-Production Fund (until April 20, 2022) and Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund (until May 20, 2022). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACF was on hold for the past 2 years and starts off again this year.

About the Asian Cinema Fund:
ACF has been supporting directly to feature films and documentaries and championed the diversity of Korean and Asian films. It has taken on the role of introducing the films worldwide. ACF starts off with Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) of BIFF and is expected to be reinforced in the market, connecting the selected projects to film industry.

ACF selected films have been standing out in the prestigious festivals throughout the world. House of Hummingbird (2018) directed by Kim Bora and Moving On (2019) directed by Yoon Dan-bi, ACF Post-Production Fund supported films, have crowned awards at the BIFF as well as swept the awards at the international film festivals. Children of the Mist directed by Ha Le Diem, 2019 AND Fund selection, officially invited to International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2021. Blue Island directed by Chan Tze Woon, 2018 AND Fund film, selected in Bright Future of International Film Festival Rotterdam 2022. Whether the Weather Is Fine (2021) directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad, 2014 Script Development Fund supported film, went to Locarno Film Festival 2021 and Toronto International Film Festival 2021.

Script Development Fund

Asian Cinema Fund’s Script Development Fund is for first- or second-time fiction feature directors from Asia. It provides funding to Asian independent filmmakers to complete their first or second feature-length fiction film scripts that are in development.

Categories:
1) Asian Project:
– The Writer-director of the project of Asian Nationality
– The project contains Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

2) AFA Project:
– The writer-director of the project is an alumnus/alumna of Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Film Academy (AFA).
– The project contains Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

Eligibility:
– Applicant must be the writer-director or a team of writer and director who are of Asian nationality. The producer of the project does not have to be of Asian nationality.
– The script must be of the director’s first or second feature film project.
– The director of the project should have directed at least one short or feature film.
– The script must be the applicant’s original work.
– The script must contain Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

Regulation:
– The application form and any additional documents for submission must be in English.
– Applicant is required to submit a treatment of 5 to 10 pages.
– Any additional documents may be submitted if they contain information that can help the selection committee to gain a better understanding of the applicant’s film project.
– File attachments must be in PDF format and are restricted to 5 MB in total per application. A prior check on the total size of all the documents to attach is recommended.
– Director’s previous works, if not in English or Korean, should have English or Korean subtitles. – They must be submitted via online link that is accessible for up to 3 months after the submission deadline. DVDs of director’s previous works are not accepted.
– Applicant can submit only one project per fund.
– Resubmissions are not accepted.

After Selection:
– Announcement of the final selection will be made in July.
– The recipient must sign the Fund Agreement to receive the cash grant of 10 million KRW in late October. The amount includes any applicable tax and possible bank fees.
– The recipient must give a progress report upon request from ACF.
– The recipient must submit a working draft and the completed script after receiving the cash grant.
– The completed film must include (1) the opening title card provided by ACF in the film’s opening sequence, and (2) BIFF and ACF logos in the end credits and promotional materials.

Provides:
– Cash grant of 10 million KRW (9,400 US$)

Deadline: March 23 – April 20, 2022 (23:59, KST)

Submission Guideline: SEE PDF

Post-Production Fund

Asian Cinema Fund’s Post-Production Fund provides post-production services to Asian independent filmmakers to complete their feature-length fiction films, shot in digital format.

Categories:
1) Asian Project
– The director of the project is of Asian nationality.
– The project contains Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

2) Korea Project
– The director of the project is of Korean nationality, living and working in Korea.
– The project contains Korean elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

Eligibility (Asian Project):
– The director must be of Asian nationality.
– The project must contain Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.
– The project should complete the editing and pre-mixing by May 2022.
– The project must not have ever been screened or released before.

Regulations:
– The online application form and any documents for submission must be written in English.
– Applicant must provide the following information:
(1) Project Info (title, budget, production plan, etc.);
(2) Logline (300 characters including spaces);
(3) Synopsis (1500 characters including spaces);
(4) Director’s Intention (2000 characters including spaces); and
(5) Director’s Profile (1000 characters including spaces).
– Applicant must submit:
(1) Script in PDF format; and
(2) Online Link of the project’s English-subtitled Rough Cut or Final Cut.
– It is optional to provide an online link of director’s previous work and to attach any additional documents that may help the selection committee to gain a better understanding of the project.
– File attachments must be in PDF format and are restricted to 5 MB in total per application. A prior check on the total size of all the documents to attach is recommended.
– Applicant can submit only one project per fund.
– Resubmissions are not accepted.

After Selection:
– Announcement of the final selection will be made in July.
– Upon selection, the recipient must sign the Fund Agreement.
– The post-production process for DI, Final Sound Mixing, English Subtitle Spotting, and DCP will take place in Korea at Korean post-production labs from July to August.
– ACF will provide 2 round trip tickets and 1 hotel room for the fund recipients to work on the post-production of their projects in Korea.
– The completed film must include (1) the opening title card provided by ACF in the film’s opening sequence, and (2) BIFF and ACF logos in the end credits and promotional materials.
– The completed film must have the world premiere at 27th Busan International Film Festival.

Provides:
– Post production services (DI, Final Sound Mixing, English Subtitle Spotting, DCP) at leading post production studios in South Korea and Round-trip airfare and accommodation in South Korea.

Deadline: March 23 – April 20, 2022 (23:59, KST)

Submission Guideline: SEE PDF

Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund.

Asian Cinema Fund’s Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund provides funding to Asian independent documentary filmmakers to complete their feature-length documentary film projects that are aimed for theatrical release.

Categories:
1) Asian Project:
– The director of the project is of Asian nationality.
– The feature-length documentary film project is aimed for theatrical release.
– The project contains Asian elements in its story, theme, character, and background.

2) Korean Projects
– The director of the project is of Korean nationality.
– The feature-length documentary film project is aimed for theatrical release.

Eligibility (Asian Project):
– The director must be of Asian nationality.
– The expected running time of the project should be 60 minutes or more.
– The project may be in any stage of production (pre-production, production, and post-production).

Regulations:
– The online application form and any documents for submission must be in English.
– Applicant must provide the following information :
(1) Project Info (title, budget, production plan, etc.);
(2) Logline (300 characters including spaces);
(3) Synopsis (1500 characters including spaces);
(4) Director’s Intention (2000 characters including spaces); and
(5) Director’s Profile (1000 characters including spaces).
– Applicant must submit :
(1) Project Proposal (including a list of research materials and investigative contents, and corresponding editing script);
(2) Online Link of the Demo reel (max. 20 min.) or a Rough Cut (for projects in post-production stage); and Online Link(s) of director’s previous works (maximum of 3 works).
– The demo reel, the rough cut, and previous work(s) should have English or Korean subtitles. They must be accessible for up to 3 months after the submission deadline. DVDs are not accepted for submission.
– Applicant can submit only one project per fund.
– Resubmissions are acceptable only when there are substantial changes. Applicant is required to provide a full explanation of the changes in the project within the online application form (2000 characters including spaces).

After Selection:
– Announcement of the final selection will be made in July.
– The recipient must sign the Fund Agreement.
– The recipient will receive the cash grant of either 10 million or 20 million KRW in late October. The amount includes any applicable tax and possible bank fees.
– The recipient must give a progress report upon request from ACF.
– The completed film must include (1) the opening title card provided by ACF in the film’s opening sequence, and (2) BIFF, ACF, and AND logos in the end credits and promotional materials.

Provides:
– Cash grant from 5 – 10 million KRW (4,700 US$ – 9,400 US$)

Deadline: April 25 – May 20, 2022 (23:59, KST)

Submission Guideline: SEE PDF

For more information please visit the Official Page of the Asian Cinema Fund HERE: https://acf.biff.kr/eng/default.asp

Too see other Call for Entries please follow the next link: “Call For Entries”