By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Bojana Doneva from Bulgaria
Photos = Bojana Doneva

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is a grand film festival held annually in the city of Busan. It is also one of the most significant festivals in North- and South-East Asia. This year’s 23rd edition took place from Oct. 4 to 13 at various locations across Busan, including the Busan Cinema Center, Haeundae beach and Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (commonly known as BEXCO). Every year another lesser known event to the general audience happens during BIFF. The event is called the Asian Film Market (AFM) or as I personally refer to it – the hidden gem of the Busan International Film Festival. The reason behind the nickname is simple: the event is available only to film industry professionals, so festival goers are not well aware of the Market’s exact purpose.

The Asian Film Market is a co-production market, covering all stages of film industry from pre-production to film sales. A co-production market is a networking platform open to representatives from all spheres of the film industry such as scriptwriters, directors, producers, sales agents, distributors, etc. This year’s 13th edition of the Asian Film Market took place between Oct. 6 and 9 at BEXCO, Busan. The Market’s program included various events such as the Project Pitch Sessions, Talks, Lectures and more.

Part of the Asian Film Market’s program was one of this year’s most curious events, the Book to Film pitch session. A pitch is a five- to ten-minute presentation of a film idea during which a writer introduces a project in need of financing. The Book to Film event gives opportunities to Korean publishing companies to find further investment for the adaptation of their literary works. The event has been getting continuous attention for the past six years, as it gives birth to very interesting projects. This year’s Book to Film selections included 15 book titles with romance, drama and thriller being the most popular genre representatives at the pitch session on Oct. 6.



Another interesting part of the Asian Film Market’s program is Platform BUSAN. It is a networking platform that helps independent filmmakers search for collaboration opportunities. This year’s 2nd edition included various talks and lectures. One of them was Filmmaker’s Talk: Lee Chang-dong. As an avid fan of Korean cinema I could not miss the opportunity to attend Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s Talk event.

During the Talk, the film director shared his thoughts on adapting novels and short stories into films. He also discussed his award-winning project "Burning" with the attending film professionals and media representatives. "Burning" is a mystery drama film, starring actors Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun and actress Jeon Jong-seo. The script is based on world-acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning.” Earlier this year director Lee Chang-dong’s Burning won the prestigious FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.

On the topic of adapting novels and short stories into films, Lee Chang-dong mentioned that “A novel should have good volume, colorful characters and a lot of twists and changes. All of those elements need to exist, in order to be able to turn a certain literary work into a film.” The renowned film director further added that, from his perspective, “adapting books into films is a very challenging thing to do. And when it comes to adapting short stories into films (such as the Burning project), even if the original story is short in length, if the scriptwriter adds a bit to it and further develops the story, it might be able to turn into a very good, quality movie.”

When asked about "Burning," Lee Chang-dong said that “Eight years have already passed since I worked on the film Poetry. Of course, I have been working on other smaller projects, as well. But when the Burning project appeared, I decided to work on it”. The film director further added that “Lately cinema has turned into something that offers only experiences. Through my projects, I want to make the audience think about the narration and meaning behind the story, instead. This is what I like most about the Burning project. The movie itself is a puzzle. The audience could be shocked or feel confused about the film’s ending but I wanted to make them think ‘Why does the film end this way? What is the message it conveys?’ and also to ask them ‘What is the meaning of cinema? What is a story?’”

After discussing the true meaning of cinema and answering young filmmakers’ questions director Lee Chang-dong put a successful end to the Filmmaker’s Talk. The Book to Film pitch session and Filmmaker’s Talk: Lee Chang-dong are just two of many attractive events that the Asian Film Market had to offer this year. It is a must-visit co-production market for all budding filmmakers who want to make a name for themselves on the global scene. Let’s look forward to Asian Film Market 2019!



wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean. European production houses offer their services at the Asian Film Market 2018.