Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan Film Bodies Team for Incubator Lab in Busan

Rebecca Souw Multifaceted Korean film company Acemaker Movieworks will unveil four titles at this year’s Asian Contents & Film Market, which operates alongside the Busan International Film Festival. Action and revenge feature prominently as unifying themes. The COVID pandemic continues to have a delayed impact on the Korean production and film releasing scenes. Last year’s prolonged theatrical drought meant funds for reinvestment were in short supply and releases postponed. Many of Acemaker’s movies were shot in 2020, but are only now confirming completion and new release dates. “Remember” is an action drama film starring Lee Sung Min (“The Spy Gone North”) and Nam Joo Hyuk (best known for TV series “Start-Up” and “Twenty-Five Twenty-One”). Directed by Lee Il Hyung (“A Violent Prosecutor”), the story revolves around a retired soldier suffering from dementia, seeking revenge from people he believes caused the death of his family. The film is a remake of Atom Egoyan’s Nazi drama thriller of the same name that starred the late Christopher Plummer. “Remember” will have its theatrical release in Korea on Oct. 26, 2022.

TheSingapore Film Commission has selected He Shuming’s Singapore-Korea co-production Ajoomma as its submission to the best international feature category at the Oscars.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief EST Studios, the film company established this year by 88Rising co-founder Jaeson Ma and former Vice Media executive Eric Tu, has struck a partnership arrangement with China’s Hugoeast Media. The partnership is looking at an initial slate of eight projects, with EST Studios representing sales at the major film markets including the upcoming Asian Contents and Film Market and Asian Project Market at the Busan International Film Festival. EST will be the exclusive representative for Hugoeast’s titles in North America. In other territories (outside of China) it will handle them on a non-exclusive basis.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese indie sales Firm Free Stone Productions has added a quartet of new titles to its line-up in time for the rights markets in Busan and Tokyo. The company is unable to travel to Busan and will meet with clients virtually at the Asian Contents & Film Market. The TIFFCOM market, which runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival later in the month, is anyway a virtual event. Top of the list is “In Her Room,” a romance about a young dentist who embarks on a romance with a mysterious woman but cannot figure her out. The film will play in the Nippon Cinema Now section of the Tokyo festival and have a Japanese commercial release from January. It is the feature debut if Ito Chihiro and stars Iguchi Satoru, Baba Fumika and Kawai Yuumi.

Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the industry platform of Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), is making a return as a fully-fledged in-person event this year, after being mostly held online for two years during the pandemic.

After two years of holding in-person but stripped down editions of the festival, South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 5-14) is back in full force this year with a packed line-up of screenings, red carpets, parties, awards and industry events.

Naman Ramachandran Following its launch earlier this month in Malaysia, streamer Aha is set to bow in Singapore and the Middle East. The service, currently available in the Telugu and Tamil languages, will also begin offering Malayalam-language content with an eye on the Middle East expansion, where a migrant population that speaks the language abounds. Operated by Arha Media and Broadcasting, the Telugu-language service began in Jan. 2020 and the Tamil service followed in February this year. Malaysia, where there is a large Tamil-speaking population, was a logical next step, with four originals by local filmmakers in Malaysian Tamil, where the inflexions are slightly different from the Tamil spoken in India. Singapore, which also has a significant Tamil population, will follow.

Jackson Wang has announced concerts in London, Paris, Singapore, Dubai and more as part of his ‘MAGIC MAN’ world tour.The tour was confirmed by concert promoter AEG Presents on social media on Wednesday (September 28). The tour currently consists of six dates: three this year, and three next year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean film producer Baek Jaeho has been named as the inaugural recipient of the Choon-yun Award, a prize set up in honor of Lee Choon-yun, the late chairman of the Korean Association of Film Art & Industry. The award, worth KRW10 million ($7,100), will be presented on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 6 in conjunction with IOK Company. Baek participated in the production of 2021 title “Snowball” and was previously involved in indie films “Jane” in 2016 and last year’s “Role.” He also acts and directs. Veteran director Kang Je-kyu praised Baek as ”a filmmaker who maintains his values and outspreads his potential in the insufficient independent film environment.”

HYBE has published a new statement addressing the issue of expenses for BTS‘ forthcoming ‘Yet To Come’ concert in Busan.South Korean broadcast network KBS reported yesterday (September 21) claiming that the Busan government had sent out sponsorship request emails to the 10 biggest corporations in Korea as a means of funding BTS’ ‘Yet To Come’ Busan concert on October 15. The concert has been touted as free-of-charge for audiences, in order to support Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo.KBS also reported that the Busan government had done so while attaching a contact for HYBE in their correspondence, claiming the request was passed down from the entertainment company.

BTS have announced that their upcoming ‘Yet To Come’ concert in Busan will be livestreamed on Weverse and on South Korean television for free.The K-pop juggernauts are slated to perform at the ‘Yet To Come’ concert in the South Korean city of Busan on October 15 at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium for free, organised in support of the city’s bid to host the World City Expo in 2030.On September 20, Big Hit Music took to BTS’ official Weverse page to announce that the upcoming gig will be livestreamed on the fan community platform free of cost as well.The concert will be streamed in real-time from October 15 at 6pm KST, with subtitles available in eight languages, including English, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Fans will have the option of viewing the concert livestream either through Weverse’s mobile or smart TV apps.Other platforms previously announced to be offering complimentary livestreams of ‘Yet To Come’ also include ZEPETO and Naver Now.

EXCLUSIVE: Filipino production company Daluyong Studios, which co-produced Plan 75, Japan’s Best International Feature submission for the Oscars, is partnering with Tan Si En’s Singapore-based Momo Film Co to co-produce a slate of features and documentaries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jack Neo, who is by far Singapore’s most commercially successful filmmaker, has begun production on “King of Musang King,” a comedy that he envisages being ready for release at Chinese New Year in January. The narrative gives prominent position to durians, the smelly Southeast Asian fruit that most people either love or hate. Neo (“Money No Enough,” the “Ah Boys to Men” franchise) will co-star, direct and produce through his J Team Productions. The film will be presented by J Team, mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes. The story revolves around a man (played by Mark Lee), his abandoned Malaysian wife (played by Yeo Yann Yann), and childhood friend Mao Shan (played by Jack Neo).