The Busan Film Commission (BFC) has announced the inaugural Film Policy Plus (FPP), an Asia Pacific film policy forum for high-level policymakers and industry professionals to be held Oct 4-5 during the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) and concurrent Asian Film Market's BIFCOM.

Originally a locations and post-production exhibition and conference, BIFCOM also plays host to the Asian Film Commissions Network (AFCNet) council meetings.

The AFCNet and BFC are upping the ante now with the FPP - bringing in high-ranking members of governmental organisations to discuss and create policy for filmmaking incentives suited to Asia, and standardised guidelines for permits, customs, and other legal matters for foreign shoots.

The event will see 37 representatives from 14 countries including China's La Peikang, deputy director general of the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film & TV (SARFT); Tamotsu Aoki, commissioner at Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and Kenneth Tan, director of the Singapore Film Commission and COO of the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Seminars and panel discussions will include one on Hollywood-Asia collaboration presented by Ty Warren, senior vice president of production at DreamWorks Pictures; and one on Asian co-production with top Chinese producer Hu Xiaofeng, whose credits include Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet, John Woo's Red Cliff, and the recent Weinstein Company production Shanghai, which was compelled to shoot in Thailand instead of China this year.

In addition to presentations and roundtable talks on respective nation's incentives and evolving policies, the events will also include closed-door sessions between government officials to discuss development policy and cooperation in the Asian film industry.

Busan and Sapporo will also sign an MOU to collaborate on film education, co-production, and bilateral distribution during the FPP.

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