Busan Market to Launch Talent Agency Presentations

In addition to hosting a forum for top East Asian talent agencies to share their management know-how, Busan’s upcoming Asian Film Market will give these companies the opportunity to promote their stars.

Top regional agencies, including South Korean giants JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment, will take part in an event dubbed “Star Line-Up” on Oct. 7. Also slated to join is Easy Entertainment, one of China’s first talent agencies to represent not only actors but also directors, screenwriters and other talent working behind-the-scene. Each management company or talent agency will be given 30 minutes to introduce its actors and actresses.

While JYP and SM are more widely known for producing some of the region’s most popular K-pop stars, they also represent actors. SM is behind some of the region’s biggest film icons, such as Jang Dong-gun, who has starred in cross-border projects opposite Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Cecilia Cheung. And many JYP-backed singers, including 2PM’s Lee Jun-ho, have successfully crossed over to acting.

“Beginning next year, each management company and talent agency that attends [the Asian Film Market] will be able to make individual bookings, according to their desired time slot. This session is expected to produce positive results for international casting,” said a spokesperson.

This year’s market is expected to be larger than ever as organizers have announced that there the number of early sales booth registrations more than doubled and that there a threefold increase of early badge registrations. The market will be held Oct. 5-8 during the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which will run Oct. 2-11 in the Korean city.

Related Stories

Related Story

Busan Opening Night