Yesterday Will Be Perfect, a Hong Kong-Canada co-production directed by Timothy Yeung, headlined the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market awards on Tuesday evening, taking home the newly introduced MAS Award and its $20,000 prize.
APM (previously called Pusan Promotion Plan) is a co-production platform that has become one of Busan’s signature events since its launch in 1998 and offers emerging filmmakers the opportunity to meet international film professionals. Other coveted awards handed out during this year’s closing ceremony include the Busan Award (with a cash prize of $15,000), which went to The Final Print (South Korea) by Jang Woojin, and the Bright East Film Award ($15,000), which went to Blossom by Liu Yanwenjun (China).
The MONEFF Award, which provides $20,000 in postproduction services including VFX, went to Man of the Sea by Jero Yun, who was also the helmer of Busan’s opening film, Beautiful Days.
Where We Belong, a Thai project by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, won the CJ Entertainment Award ($10,000). CJ, South Korea’s top investor-distributor will be given the first-look option for production, investment, sales and distribution of the title.
Another prize sponsored by a local investor-distributor, the Lotte Award (about $8,800), went to South Korea’s The Martyrdom by Kim Uiseok.
The KOCCA (the Korea Creative Content Agency) Award, which also awards about $8,800 to a domestic project, went to In the Water by Shin Dong-seok.
Japan’s My Small Land (working title) by Emma Kawawada took home the ARTE International Prize, winning a cash prize of 6,000 euros and the opportunity to be streamed online on ARTE Kino’s website (ARTE Kino will have internet non-exclusive rights with a restricted number of viewings for 30 days).
The Sorfond Award, given out by the Norwegian South Film Fund, went to The Exam by Shawkat Amin Korki. The pic will be invited to the Sorfond Pitching Forum with a prize package that includes a round-trip ticket and accommodations.
In its 20th year, APM enjoyed a bustling three-day run from Sunday through Tuesday, featuring over 740 meetings among filmmakers, financiers, co-producers and distributors, marking a spike from last year’s 645.
