Author: rb809rb

The Busan Story Market (BSM) has unveiled 25 official selections for 2026, including international bestseller Hwang Bo-reum and two-time Hans Christian Andersen Award finalist Lee Geum-yi, drawing on original IP from four Asian countries.

BSM is part of the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the official market of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Among the Korean selections is “My Upstairs Neighbors” by Hwang Bo-reum, the author behind the international bestseller “Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop,” and “Chasm of Sorrow” by Lee Geum-yi, whose more than 50 published books and international translations have made her one of Korea’s most recognized children’s and young-adult authors. The lineup as a whole comprises 15 titles from Korea and four each from Taiwan and Japan, alongside two from Indonesia.

Genres and narratives range widely this year, spanning stories that explore universal emotions and relationships, including life and death, family, growth, love and loss, through fresh genre settings, alongside plot-driven works built around hidden agendas and fixations that take unpredictable turns.

BSM operates as a marketplace connecting film and audiovisual adaptations of original IP, drawing from books, webtoons, web novels, video games and other formats, with content platforms and IP holders worldwide. The official selections take part in pitching sessions and one-on-one business meetings aimed at secondary rights deals and adaptation collaborations.

For the Korean IP selection, BSM fielded 138 submissions from 83 companies this year, ultimately choosing 15 titles from 13 companies: nine books, two webtoons, two web novels and two stories. Books make up more than half the Korean lineup, though the selections stay broadly balanced across formats and genres. The titles pair crowd-pleasing categories, among them romance, mystery, fantasy and family drama, with less conventional hooks, including parallel worlds, out-of-body experiences and science fiction, touching on themes from generational communication and family bonds to individual lives set against their times. The selection ranges from emotionally driven human dramas to AI-inflected fantasy, genre-blending historical romance, period pieces and hybrid concepts.

BSM’s Taiwanese IP selection, conducted annually with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), yielded four titles from four companies, one apiece drawn from books, webtoons, web novels and comics. Each centers on a high concept distinctive enough to convey its identity in a single line, using fantasy settings not merely for spectacle but to work through emotional terrain that includes bereavement, remorse, early romance, ties between family members and coming of age, positioning the titles for adaptation across film, drama series and other formats.

Four Japanese IPs from four companies, one book and three comics, were chosen through the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO). The selections lean on layered characters and relationships built around secrets and obsessions, with stories shifting in unpredictable directions as hidden truths surface or unlikely individuals form bonds across boundaries.

Indonesia’s two selections, both comics from two separate companies, were picked from a shortlist of 10 Indonesian original IPs that had been presented at the 2025 JAFF Content Market, an initiative run by the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival Market (JAFF Market); the pair emerged after a round of pitches and meetings centered on adapting the properties for film and audiovisual formats. Both took home the JAFF Content Market Award Goes to ACFM 2026, earning them a spot in this year’s BSM lineup. JAFF Content Market has since evolved into JAFF IP Connection for 2026, and one of BSM’s selected Korean IPs will be invited to that program following talks with JAFF Market representatives. The Yogyakarta, Indonesia program runs Nov. 28-30, continuing the two-way exchange of original IP between BSM and JAFF Market.

BSM runs alongside APM at ACFM, which takes over Exhibition Center 2 at BEXCO in Busan for four days starting Oct. 10, with the 25 selections set to connect with industry professionals through BSM Pitch & Match sessions and further business meetings exploring IP expansion and adaptation opportunities.

ACFM is the official market of BIFF and is held in Busan every October. The 2025 edition, ACFM’s 20th, drew industry professionals from 55 countries – 3,024 of them, alongside 1,222 registered companies – with on-site attendance reaching a record 30,006. The Sales Market tallied 8,438 business meetings, generating an estimated $71.1 million in transactions.

The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15, with the 21st ACFM held Oct. 10-13.

FULL LIST OF 2026 BUSAN STORY MARKET SELECTIONS
(Listed in alphabetical order; title – author – company – genre – IP type – country/region)

New Nordic Films, the Norwegian International Film Festival’s industry confab in Haugesund, has announced the program for its first ever French Focus, set up to foster partnerships and co-productions between France and the Nordic countries.  

The event, due to run Aug. 25-28, is organised by New Nordic Films in partnership with the Institut Francais de Norvège, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France’s National Center for Cinema (CNC) and promotional body Unifrance. 

Headlining the French Focus is a pitching session on Aug. 26 at the Nordic Co-Production Market of four French films in development, of which two are produced by pedigreed producer Les Valseurs, a Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner this year for “Elephants in the Fog” and Un Certain Regard top prize winner in 2025 for “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo.” 

Produced by Les Valseurs co-founder Damien Megherdi, “Borderline” is the feature length spin-off of Yves Piat’s Oscar and César nominated short film “Nefta Football Club,” while “All the Softness in the World” is an ambitious animation project by Turkish artist Ayçe Kartal whose short film “Wicked Girl” was the first animation short to scoop the Grand Prix in Clermont-Ferrand in 2018.

Two other directorial debuts make the cut: the creative documentary “Boutès” by Jeanne Géli and Loïs Szymczak, produced by Womanray’s Marielle Tricoire, co-producer of Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother” and “Temporary Lives” by Syrian-Norwegian filmmaker Wessam Hachicho, produced by Respiro Productions (“In the Nguyen Kitchen”).  

Besides the four-title pitch, the French Focus will include a panel on co-production opportunities between France and the five Nordic countries, and a case study on the anticipated “Ibelin” by Norwegian-born Morten Tyldum, mostly famed for the Oscar-winning “The Imitation Game.” The biopic about online gamer Mats Steen – starring Charlie Plummer, Stephen Graham, Toni Collette, and Bill Nighy – is currently in production for France’s Vendôme Pictures, Pathé, and Norway’s Neby-Tyldum AS. 

“I am incredibly happy that we are finally able to have a French focus in Haugesund,” said Gyda Velvin Myklebust, head of New Nordic Films. “French cinema is well-known internationally for high artistic quality, and we in the Nordic region have also recently made a strong mark internationally,” she added, referring to “Sentimental Value”’s Oscar win for Best International Feature, the first ever for Norway. “France and the Nordics have highly talented and ambitious filmmakers, and we believe our French focus will give wind to a French-Nordic wave of co-productions and creative collaborations between our countries.”

For Kjersti Mo, CEO at the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) the French Focus reflects “a growing recognition that European film depends on stronger international collaboration.”

“France has one of Europe’s strongest film cultures and most developed production ecosystems, while the Nordic countries bring distinctive stories, strong creative talent and considerable international experience,” Mo added. “These different strengths are precisely what can make the partnerships valuable,” said the NFI chief, who also underscored that  “international collaboration is a central priority” in the institute’s new strategy. 

Speaking to Variety, Michel Plazanet, CNC director of international affairs, pointed out that “the Nordic countries, which traditionally co-produce extensively among themselves, are now “seeking additional partners, particularly in France, as this opens up numerous opportunities: access to funding (such as “Aide aux Cinémas du Monde,” regional co-production funds, Arte, and SOFICA), distribution advantages (French sales agents have an excellent reputation, and French co-productions gain easier access to the Cannes and Annecy festivals), and better access to the French theatrical market, the largest in Europe, especially for arthouse cinema.”

Conversely the Nordics offer clear advantages for French producers, Plazanet said, as the region boasts “robust institutions, substantial and diverse public and private funding, and reliable professionals accustomed to international co-production.”

Aide au Cinéma du Monde

So far 20 Nordic projects have received backing from the ACM including three Cannes entries from Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value,” “The Worst Person in the World,” “Louder than Bombs”), and two from Tarik Saleh (“Eagles of the Republic,” Boys from Heaven”).

Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are the most active [co-production] countries, but Iceland also performs very well, given its very small population,” Plazanet said. 

Among the French Focus attendees, Julie Billy, founder of Paris-based June Films, was just granted ACM support for the Icelandic project in production “A Favour” by Grímur Hákonarson (“Rams”), and is developing a project with Norway’s Eye Eye Pictures (“Fjord,” “Sentimental Value”). “The French Focus comes at exactly the right moment,” said the producer, also interested in creators – notably from the Sámi community, “whose perspectives are unique and increasingly important on the international scene.”

“I would love to see Norway as a minority co-producer in more French productions, and of course the other way around,” added Eye Eye Pictures co-founder Andrea Berendsen Ottmar who also hopes the French Focus will “inspire, so that we can help each other to think outside the box in terms of how we structure and finance our projects. Independent producers all over Europe need to stand together and support each other, and forums like this are very valuable in that sense,” she observed. 

As noted by Plazanet, the French Focus plays within a series of French/Nordic industry events, multiplied in the last two years, that peaked in 2025 with the Visions Nordiques Festival in Paris. Next on the CNC’s top agenda is “an institutional alignment on key European issues, notably the transposition of the AVMS Directive and platform obligations.”

The Norwegian International Film festival, running Aug. 22-28, will platform eight French films in its section French Touch. 

Drilling down on the four French projects lined-up for the Nordic Co-Production Market

“Bordeline” (“Sur la ligne,” Yves Piat)
Produced by Daniel Megherbi, Les Valseurs

Feature debut from the director of the 2020 Oscar-nominated short film “Neftah Football Club who has sketched out ideas from his short, together with writer Alaa Eddine Aljem (“The Unknown Saint”). The story turns Hishem, on a customs officer on the Algerian-Tunisian border, who encounters Tesla, a donkey lost in the desert with headphones over his ears, with a bag of cocaine on his back. 

Producer Megherbi who co-produced with the Nordics Nepalese pic “Elephants in the Fog,” a Cannes’ Jury Prize winner, believes “Bordeline”’s deadpan, absurd humor, “somewhere between Elia Suleiman and the Coen brothers,” will resonate well with Nordic partners and the general audience. Public backers on board include the CNC, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and ICEC in Spain via Spanish co-producers Sumendi and BTeam Pictures. Filming is pencilled for April-May 2027. 

“All the Softness in the World” (“Toute la douceur du monde,” Ayçe Kartal)
Produced by Damien Megherbi, Les Valseurs

Turkish animation filmmaker Ayçe Kartal and Megherbi reunite on the helmer’s feature length debut after his multi-awarded short film “Wicked Girls,” an Annecy Jury Prize) winner. Set in 1950, the story follows the young Levon who has grown up posing as a girl, to be protected from an ancient family vendetta. In his search for his true identity, Levon lands in Paris in the world of Haute Couture where he begins to recover a sense of self through creativity. 

“I want to explore, through [Levon] an alternative history of fashion, one rooted in survival, not spectacle,” said Kartal in a statement. “At Haugesund, we hope to find a Nordic co-producer who understands what we’re trying to achieve with this project. It’s an ambitious, innovative piece of adult animation, and we want a partner who’s genuinely excited by that,” said Megherbi who’s secured development support from the CNC and Hauts-de-France region. 

“Boutès” (Jeanne Géli, Loïs Szymczak)
Produced by Marieke Tricoire, Womanray

A liife-affirming documentary in which forensic pathologist Jeanne Géli turns filmmaker to capture the frailty and beauty of life, as her partner Loic Szymczak, an Olympic diver and visual artist, suddenly fights for his own life, upended by a malignant brain tumor. Together they move towards one act of faith-a performative dive in the heart of Paris. 

“This film is, above all, a love story. We are making it to transform the reality of illness into poetic material,” said the co-directors. 

Womanray founder Tricoire, who bridges luxury brands with film and served as co-producer on Jim Jarmusch’s Golden Lion winner “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother,” said she signed up for New Nordic Films when she found out that the founder of the extreme sport Døds diving (Death diving) was born in Norway. The project co-produced with Hutong in France, is currently shooting, with a delivery pencilled for 2028. 

“Temporary Lives” (Wessam Hachicho)
Produced by Amélie Quéret, Respiro Productions

Wessam Hachido, a graduate from Oslo’s Westerdals film school and a former cinematographer in Syria, draws from her own uprooting experience to tell the story of a Syrian teenager refugee in Oslo and his estranged father as they seek asylum in Norway. “Beneath the [film’s] political context lies an intimate story about unresolved trauma, family bonds and the sacrifices parents and children make for one another,” said Hachido. The film also asks how institutions shape individual lives, as every decision the characters make becomes a negotiation between survival, dignity, and hope.”

Queret, who met the rising filmmaker at the Less is More Lab, said she was blown away by Hachido’s script and “clear artistic identity.” In Haugesund, she will be looking for a Norwegian co-producer and access to Nordic funds. Filming is due to start in 2027. 

Acclaimed Bengali cinema actor Parno Mittra is stepping behind the camera as a producer for the first time with “The Music Teacher,” a British-Indian short film starring Raima Sen that begins principal photography this month in Kolkata.

The project is co-produced by Tabernacle Street Films (U.K.) and Unscripted Co (India), the production banner Mittra is launching with this film. Written and directed by Shrimoyee Chakraborty, “The Music Teacher” is her first Bengali narrative film, following her documentary “Spirit of the Wildflower” and her work as creator and presenter of “India Bites.” Chakraborty also produces for Tabernacle Street Films, alongside Mittra’s producing role for Unscripted Co. Editor Aarti Bajaj, known for her work on “Jab We Met,” “Rockstar,” “Highway,” “Tamasha,” “Sacred Games,” “Jubilee” and “Amar Singh Chamkila,” comes aboard as co-producer.

Sen takes the title role, with Niranjan Mondal, who appeared in “Laughtersane,” rounding out the cast.

Inspired by Chakraborty’s mother, “The Music Teacher” is set in North Kolkata and centers on a young man struggling with depression who finds a path back to life through a teacher of Rabindra Sangeet, the genre of songs composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore that remains central to Bengali culture. The film is billed as a tribute to Rabindra Sangeet and the educators who have preserved Bengal’s cultural heritage across generations, exploring resilience and human connection.

Mittra has spent more than two decades building a career as one of Bengali cinema’s most established actors, with credits including “Doob (No Bed of Roses),” “Rajkahini,” “Apur Panchali” and “Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona.”

“‘The Music Teacher’ embodies the kind of cinema I want Unscripted Co to champion – stories that are deeply rooted, emotionally resonant and capable of travelling across cultures,” Mittra said. “After more than two decades as an actor, producing this film marks an exciting new chapter in my creative journey. As our first production, this project represents the beginning of the vision I have for Unscripted Co, and I couldn’t have asked for a more inspiring team to bring it to life.”

“‘The Music Teacher’ is my love letter to my mother, to Rabindra Sangeet and to Kolkata,” Chakraborty added. “It’s an incredibly personal story, and I’m honored to be making it alongside such an extraordinary team.”

“I’ve spent my career helping shape stories in the edit room, and producing feels like a natural extension of that journey,” Bajaj said. “‘The Music Teacher’ is intimate, deeply moving and profoundly human. I’m delighted to come on board as co-producer and help bring Shrimoyee’s beautiful vision to the screen.”