The Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Cinema Fund has announced its 2026 Co-Production Support Fund recipients, backing three films with a total of KRW140 million ($100,000) in production funding. The decision represents an expansion from the fund’s inaugural year, when a single project received support.
The three selected projects are “Grateful,” directed by Fukada Koji as a Korea-Japan co-production; “Rhizome,” directed by Jakrawal Nilthamrong involving Thailand, Korea, France, Laos, and Singapore; and “Trinity,” directed by Boo Junfeng with majority backing from Taiwan, France, and Singapore, plus eight additional minority partner nations. The films were chosen from 15 submissions through a two-round evaluation process involving materials review and interviews. Combined, the three projects span involvement from 13 countries across various production roles.
“Grateful” received KRW60 million ($42,900), the largest individual grant, with the selection committee emphasizing the strength of the Korean production team’s track record. “Rhizome” and “Trinity” each received KRW40 million ($28,600). The fund requires projects to be structured as formal co-productions involving Korea with at least 60 percent of net production costs financed.
Established in 2025, the Co-Production Support Fund aims to stimulate cross-border productions involving Korean partners. This year’s total funding increased from KRW65 million in the previous year, and the program now guarantees support for at least two projects annually, up from the initial single recipient model. Fund director Ellen Y.D. Kim noted that the three selected films have already achieved substantial progress in co-production and financing arrangements and anticipated the grants would facilitate their completion.
The Asian Cinema Fund operates multiple support mechanisms, including initiatives for script development, post-production work, and documentary projects. Supported films gain access to distribution and industry connections through programming at the Busan International Film Festival and the Asian Contents & Film Market, scheduled for October.
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