The Bucheon film festival’s Network of Asian Fantastic Films project market wrapped up three days of meetings and pitching sessions on Monday with a prize ceremony that disbursed cash, post-production support and invitations to related genre film events.
“The Passport,” a Tamil- and English-language Malaysian project about an Indian rockstar who is forced to confront cultural expectations and her interactions with an imaginary friend, won the headline Bucheon Award for director Ananth Subramanian and producer Bel Choo Mun. It was both a popular choice among other NAFF participants and the unanimous decision of the jury.
The numerical winner was “Please Bear With Me,” which saw director Gabriela Serrano and producer Gale Osorio from the Philippines collect three prizes. The project is a sci-fi and social issues mash-up about a call center operative who gets paid in dream-time and uses it to relive her glory days as a pop star. A clearly-surprised Serrano used her second visit to the stage to explain the film’s origins as a deep frustration with seeing Filipina women stuck at the bottom of society and yet apologizing for their ambitions.
While the BiFan Industry Gathering wrapped on Monday, the wider BiFan festival continues till July 7.
Network of Asian Fantastic Films 2023 Project Market Awards
Bucheon Award (KRW15 million)
“Passport” Dir. Ananth Subramaniam. Prod. Bel Choo Mun (Malaysia)
Korean Discovery Award (KRW15 million)
“The Grotesque Train” Dir. Tak Sewoong. Prod. Kwon Jiyong (Korea)
Asian Discovery Award (shared)
“A Woman in Flames” Dir. Nakagawa Natsuki. Prod. OGAWA Shinji (Japan)
“Please Bear With Me” Dir. Gabriela Serrano. Prods. Gale Osorio, Keith Deligero (Philippines)
NAFF Award (shared)
“Parasomnia” Dir. Rafki Hidayat. Prod. Kevin Rahardjo (Indonesia)
“Planet” Dir. Fredrik S. Hana. Prod. Julia Joner (Norway)
NAFF Korean Award (KRW10 million) (shared)
“Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary” Dir. Kim Minha. Prod. Park Sejoon
“Show Me the Liver” Dir. Kim Jeongho. Prod. Son Seunghyeon
TAICCA Award ($10,000)
“Sesame Has Its Soul” Dir. Oscar Duong. Prod. Hang Trinh (Korea, Vietnam)
DHL Award ($5,000)
“Lake of Stars” Dir. Jake Wachtel. Prod. Visal Sok (Cambodia)
VIPO Award (JPY500,000)
“Maiden Home” Dir. Sinn Kirin. Prods. Thim Kian Cheng, Saurav Ghimire, Grégoire Graesslin.
(Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia)
Post-Production support
Mocha Chai Award (Post-Production Support)
“Please Bear With Me” Dir. Gabriela Serrano. Prods. Gale Osorio, Keith Deligero (Philippines)
Blood Window Award (Invitation to Ventana Sur)
“Planet” Dir. Fredrik S. Hana. Prod. Julia Joner (Norway)
Sitges FanPitch Award (Invitation to Sitges)
“Please Bear With Me” Dir. Gabriela Serrano. Prods. Gale Osorio, Keith Deligero (Philippines)
