In an effort to increase the level of co-productions with China, KOFIC provides a program where filmmakers can apply to receive local mentorship in Beijing. KOFIC’s Korean Film Business Center in Beijing stands its ground to provide intensive support to projects. The business center is where producers and filmmakers can apply for long-term (three months) or short-term (one month) stays in China, and where KOFIC provides hospitality, mentoring, doctoring, networking, consulting and teaches participants about the Chinese film industry. Four excellent projects were selected from many to participate at the business center to develop their projects and will be having their orientation in April. Let’s take a look at the four projects in detail.

 

Making Family is a family romantic comedy with an original story. Currently still working on its script, the production company wishes to edit the scenario with help from a Chinese writer for its final revision. The Korean production company Agrace has currently confirmed 70% of the investment from a Chinese company. It will focus on opening in China and its dialogue will mostly be in Chinese. Through KOFIC’s Korean Film Business Center in Beijing, Agrace will be researching locations to shoot, confirm cast and find local staff. Making Family is about an intelligent young boy who travels to China to find his biological father who donated his sperm many years ago. It is a light family comedy where the father tries to make the son go back to Korea, and the family tries to take him in.

 

Train Boy (literal translation is Rusty Train) is a project from KIBC, which has several co-production films with China under its belt, such as their most recent project, Peaceful Island. In Train Boy, Chiang Zhang wants to show Shin Shin that a rusty old train can run. With help from his grandfather, Chiang Zhang succeeds in fixing the train, but the train tracks are disconnected. Will Chiang Zhang be able to show Shin Shin a running train? Following the extreme popularity of the ‘Daddy, Where Are We Going?’ TV series, KIBC is aiming at a big family audience in China with this heartwarming story. It will be a film the whole family can watch and where the young will go through the adventure with the protagonist and the old will experience their childhood once again.

 

The next project is a road movie from a new company, Sunny Entertainment. Superboard (w/t) is a story about a young group of musicians who wants to have their debut gig and become a world-famous band. They hear about a Chinese agency that claims to be professional and they head off to the great Asian country to test their luck. With the booming popularity of K-pop idols overseas and the backdrop of the vast and beautiful Chinese landscape, this musical film is hoping to catch the interests of both Korean and Chinese audiences. 

 

The fourth and final selected project is called The Secret of Family. It is currently looking for an investment company to come on board. It is a mystery thriller being produced by Achim Pictures about a protagonist who mysteriously travels in time to just before his family died in an accident. The film unravels as the protagonist tries to avoid facing the family’s tragedy. It is another project aiming at the large family audience in the Chinese market as the film talks about the importance and preciousness of family.

 

KOFIC is anticipating these four projects and will support as much as possible in providing facilities and to initiate relationships with Chinese film companies to produce co-productions. For projects that wish to apply for future stays at the Korean Film Business Center in Beijing, more information can be found on the KoBiz’s Korean website: http://www.kobiz.or.kr/

 

By June KIM