Busan Asian Film School to present

Press Release No.1 (2017.10.13)

Busan Film Commission Haeundaehaebyeon-ro 52, Haeundae-gu, Busan

"AFiS Project Pitching" from October 15 to 16

- 20 fellows from 17 countries to present fiction feature film projects

- An event to encourage and stimulate international co-production

On October 15-16, a total of 20 fellows from the International Film Business Academy at Busan Asian Film School (AFiS) will present fiction feature film projects developed as part of the 2017 curriculum, pitching to filmmakers and film business professionals from all over the world.

AFiS will host two pitching events during the 22nd Busan International Film Festival, at LINK OF CINE-ASIA and Asian Film Market, respectively. The fellows have developed these individual projects during the Project Development Workshop, part of a curriculum which also includes regular courses and special lectures. Fellows were initially mentored in groups of five by each faculty member, followed by intensive sessions of individual feedback. AFiS Project Pitching will be the venue in which the results of this 8-month-long course are presented.

AFiS Project Pitching 1 will take place on October 15 at 4 pm at Paradise Hotel Busan. A total of 14 projects, divided into four groups, will be presented. HAN Sunhee and KIM Young, AFiS faculty members, will moderate the program. Individual business meetings to check the feasibility of each project will follow from October 15 to 17.

Subsequently, participants of the Asian Film Market can attend AFiS Project Pitching 2 on October 16 at 1:30 pm at BEXCO. AFiS faculty members Darcy PAQUET and Joyce CHO will moderate the pitching event. Business meetings are also scheduled on the same day from 3 pm to 7 pm at the Multi-meeting Zone, BEXCO Exhibition Center 2. Those who are interested in AFiS projects can sign up for business meetings on the spot.

“AFiS Project Pitching will feature some unique stories from lesser-known film cultures that stand to become the new future of Asian cinema,” said HAN Sunhee, the dean of AFiS.

The jury of AFiS Project Pitching consists of the three industrial experts; Jay CHOI, head of Warner Bros. Korea (Memories of Murder, The Attorney, The Age of Shadows, Single Rider, and V.I.P) and Isabelle GLACHANT, CEO of Chinese Shadows and Asian Shadows (Shanghai Dreams, 11 Flowers), and Kathy KIM, CEO of Signal Pictures, who served as CEO of the film division of CJ E&M until 2012 (The Man from Nowhere, The Unjust, Sunny, and Silenced). Selected projects will receive awards at the AFiS graduation ceremony in late October.

AFiS Project Pitching is expected to be a meaningful event to fellows of AFiS as they introduce their projects to international film industry professionals visiting LINK OF CINE-ASIA and Busan International Film Festival. It plays an important role in one of the key goals of AFiS: in encouraging and stimulating international co-production.

The graduation ceremony for the inaugural class of AFiS will be held on October 27.