Asian Contents & Film Market’s new director looking to move past event’s turmoil

The 19th edition of the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM, October 5-8) is the first to be led by Ellen YD Kim as director and will feature new elements that hint at bigger changes to come.

More than 2,500 industry professionals and 15,000 visitors from over 50 countries are expected to fill Busan’s Bexco convention centre over the four days. Alongside the established sales market and exhibition booths, they will find ACFM’s first Producer Hub aimed at generating international co-production and financing opportunities. There will also be conferences dedicated to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the film industry and the ongoing growth and potential of local OTT platforms.

These are two new strands that did not require a significant change to the budget or major disruption to the market, both of which had largely been decided when Kim joined earlier this year.

“It was a bit frustrating, coming in as director and being given very little room to make any changes or go in any different direction,” says Kim. “But I am very proud of the Producer Hub and our own curated conferences, which are just the beginning of innovations we are planning beyond this edition.”

Experienced hand

The appointment marks a return to Busan for Kim, who played a crucial role in launching the market in 2006 alongside filmmaker Park Kwang-su, who also returned to the organisation earlier this year as chairman of Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

“When [Park] came back in January, it reminded me of the first edition of the Asian Film Market where we planned everything,” recalls Kim, who joined in March from Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) where she spent eight years as programme director.

“Back then, I quit after one year because I thought the second edition would be repetitive for me. But I had wanted to get back involved with industry during my time at Bifan and it was a very quick decision to apply after [Park] was appointed chairman.”

It is hoped their return can bring some much-needed stability to BIFF following a year of turmoil that saw a string of senior figures resign – including ACFM director Oh Seok Geun – three months before last year’s market. It meant an edition without a leader and a staff that ploughed ahead regardless.

“Having no leadership at such a big event means it runs like a machine without a soul,” says Kim. “The whole organisation was quite depressed when I arrived, so you need to bring positive energy and I think there will be a much better atmosphere going forward.”

The Producer Hub is one of the innovations Kim has introduced to breathe fresh life into the Korean film industry, which has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic. The dedicated space on the Bexco floor aims to provide producers with vital networking and information-­sharing opportunities for co‑productions and financing.

Each year it will feature a focus country, with South Korea chosen for the inaugural year, reflecting its role as host and its need for strategies to overcome current challenges. The Korean Film Council (Kofic) will expand its Ko-Pick showcase of producers, which it first held during the Marché du Film at Cannes in May. It was there that the idea for a Producer Hub was born.

“In Cannes, I talked with the PGK [Producers Guild of Korea] and new president Lee Dong-ha, producer of Train To Busan,” says Kim. “We spoke about what we could do for Korean producers who are in crisis due to a loss of investment. We feared losing many colleagues. Kofic used its Cannes budget to bring five producers to [the festival]. They included Lee Dong-ha who said maybe we can do this in Busan, so I spoke with my staff and we made a plan.”

Hosting meetings, matching Korean producers with other international producers and presenting case studies, she hopes the hub can generate opportunities that will see the industry though this rough patch.

The AI Conference, scheduled for October 6, will include six sessions covering topics such as the integration of AI technologies into content production. A sizeable delegation from Microsoft will be in attendance to showcase its Copilot AI tool.

These will run alongside the established Busan Story Market, an IP sales marketplace that puts the spotlight on stories that can be transformed into films and series, and will showcase 29 Korean IPs and 18 international IP selections from Taiwan, Japan and France. The market includes pitching opportunities for these titles.

“I don’t think the sales business has recovered yet but has shifted to more acquisitions of IP as well as co-funding and co-production,” says Kim. “Sales companies now want to be more involved in the early stages as a producer. Selling a completed film is no longer enough so it’s shifting more to IP.”

There is also the Asian Project Market – older than the ACFM itself and now in its 27th year – in which 30 titles from Asian directors will compete for one of 12 awards worth more than $150,000 (see box below). Looking ahead, Kim says: “The ACFM is going to become an even more important event in the Asian film industry. Next year will mingle innovative technology with storytelling, IP and webtoons. The whole industry will be more vitalised.”

She adds that it will mark the 20th anniversary of the market so is “good timing to think about what we should do for the next 10 years”.

“I want the ACFM to be an oasis,” says Kim. “People will be on their journeys but can stop here each year to get resources, refreshments, information and meet new friends before going on their way to tell their stories.” 

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