A support program for Asian independent films has been founded through a partnership between the Busan and Venice International Film Festivals. In 2013, BIFF’s Asian Cinema Fund (ACF) agreed to collaborate on and support films from Asia with Venice’s support program, the Biennale College Cinema, which selects three low-budget projects a year.

 

BIFF’s ACF was set up to encourage the active production of Asian independent films and to pro-vide a stable environment for film production. It encompasses support for the planning and devel-opment stage of narrative films, all the way to post-production, documentary production and even distribution. The Venice International Film Festival’s Biennale College Cinema supports three se-lected independent projects a year and provides EUR 150,000 for production. The completed films are given the opportunity to premiere at the festival.

 

After an agreement was signed, BIFF and Venice’s partnership is finally coming into action this year through the selection of an Asian film for the Biennale College Cinema. It is Japanese director KOHKI Hasei’s Blanka. The film is currently under production with support from Venice, and this summer, the film will also receive support from Korea through the Asia Cinema Fund. Post-production will be done in Korea where digital intermediate, sound mixing and digital cinema pac-kage will be provided. Blanka is the first of many future Asian independent films to be supported by this collaborative program.