The 2024 edition closes with over 200 participants,
11 projects in development and 6 work in progress.
The Japanese project POLARISfirmato da Yoko Yamanaka e prodotto da Shoichiro Kawashima, vince
the TAICCA/Focus Asia co-production award!
FEFF26 –
Focus Asia 2024the industry section of Far East Film Festivalcloses with beyond 200 participants (coming from 35 territories), 11 projects under development, 6 work in progress, 3 days of panels and case studies and beyond 300 individual meetingsconfirming its unique role in promote artistic and production links between Asia and Europe.
Within this special edition, characterized by a vast series of new collaborations and reinvented initiatives, the TAICCA/Focus Asia Co-Production Awardworth €10,000, went to Japanese project Polaris: a portrait of the Polaris bar that lights up in the Tokyo night and attracts women from different backgrounds, whose lives intertwine like constellations to separate at dawn. The talented director Yoko Yamanaka begins his new journey brilliantly just a few weeks before the world debut of his second film, Desert of Namibia, officially selected for the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at the Cannes Film Festival. The confirmation of the TAICCA award for the second consecutive year is part of an international strategy based on long-term collaboration with a vast network of Asian and European partners.
On the Asian side, numerous partnerships confirmed this year with major institutions in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Thanks to the collaboration with FDCP – Film Development Council of the Philippines, VIPO – Visual Industry Promotion Organization, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia e Indonesian Producers Association (APROFI), Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), TAICCA – Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Focus Asia guaranteed the presence of the selected teams, thanks to their direct support for the directors and producers of the projects and for the works in progress of this edition.
But the reach of the partner network of Focus Asia 2024 it is not limited to the East. Focus Asia has in fact started a new partnership with FFA-Filmförderungsanstalt / German Federal Film Board, SPCINE / Brazilian Content, RE-ACT — Regional Audiovisual Cooperation and Training, CNA Cinema e Audiovisivowith the aim of offering around twenty producers the opportunity to participate in Focus Asia Laba program designed in collaboration with the Marché du Film Festival de Cannes aimed at highlighting co-production opportunities offered by South Korea, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, as well as to better understand the Asian distribution landscape and Asian investment companies.
In addition to projects in development, works in progress and sessions aimed at encouraging Asia-Europe co-production, the team at Europa Distributionthe European network of independent film publishers and distributors, returned to Udine with 20 distributors from over 15 European countries who participated for the second year in the Distribution Lab. The workshop included case studies, group work and screenings and was entirely dedicated to discovering and sharing best practices and innovative strategies to promote the distribution of Asian cinema in Europe and vice versa.
A partnership was also inaugurated with Europa Internationala European network of sales agents, which allowed members to participate in the industry event del Far East Film Festival. Focus Asia ed Europa International worked together to develop and plan future joint initiatives aimed at facilitating broader and more targeted access to the large and diverse Asian market.
The program of panels and case studies also presented the new partnership con Bridging the Dragonco-organizing a session that reveals the motivations that led major Asian production companies to film in Europe.
For the future there is still a lot to explore and discover, but there is no doubt that after 9 editions Focus Asia managed to create a unique “family market” which over the years is grew steadilyreinvented itself and dreamed big, confirming a leading strategic role among existing platforms dedicated to Asian and European cinema professionals.