Busan’s Asian Project Market (APM) has unveiled the 30 feature projects selected for its 2026 edition.

APM set a new all-time submissions record for the third consecutive year, receiving 604 entries from 48 countries. That marked an increase of 149 submissions year-on-year, following 455 submissions from 44 countries in 2025, 441 from 44 countries in 2024 and 399 from 50 countries in 2023. Submissions from Asia reached 423, up 82 from the previous year, while Korean submissions rose to 137, up 58.

From that pool, 30 projects representing 20 countries were selected. The lineup spans courtroom drama, coming-of-age story, family drama, crime thriller, queer romantic comedy, black comedy and mystery thriller, with the selected works touching on social realities, personal identity, family relationships and ethical tensions within communities. The slate mixes feature debuts from emerging filmmakers with new projects from directors already recognized on the festival circuit.

Three Japanese projects made the cut: “13” from Mori Tatsuya, who claimed BIFF’s New Currents prize in 2023 for “September 1923”; “Wings of Return (working title)” from Hirose Nanako; and “Yours” from Igarashi Kohei.

Central and South Asian filmmakers also feature prominently. Kyrgyzstan’s Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi joins APM for a third time with “Bosogo,” while Sri Lanka’s Prasanna Vithanage presents “Islands,” following “Paradise,” which took the Jiseok prize at BIFF in 2023. India’s Dominic Sangma brings “Veil of Dust,” examining tragic contradictions within a community, and Tribeny Rai returns with her second project, “A Chronicle of Minor Things” (working title). Rounding out the region are Payal Sethi’s “Babak,” Stenzin Tankyong’s feature debut “Idiot (Kakthet)” and Pakistani director Eshah Shakeel’s feature debut “Dancers.”

China, Hong Kong and Taiwan contributed four selections, pairing emerging filmmakers with experienced producers. Tibetan director Kangdrun presents “Orlo in the House,” Wang Zhiyi brings feature debut “Unripe,” Hong Kong’s So Chak Long enters with “Whisper of the Silence” and Taiwan’s Yen Hao-hsuan makes his first feature with “Uncle.”

Southeast and West Asian entries include Aditya Ahmad’s feature directorial debut “Goldfish.” Ahmad previously took the top short-film prize in Venice’s Horizons sidebar in 2018. Reza Rahadian Matulessy follows debut feature “On Your Lap,” which picked up three prizes in BIFF’s Vision – Asia sidebar in 2025, with second feature “Casparina.” Cambodia’s Chheangkea has his first feature, “Little Phnom Penh,” selected, while the Philippines’ E Del Mundo brings “Once Upon a Time in the Philippines” and Iran’s Mehrnoush Alia presents “Bon Voyage.” Singapore’s Alvin Lee offers black comedy “Talk To Me When You Are Dead,” and Malaysia’s Tan Seng Kiat presents “One Fine Day,” which took the APM Next prize at TCCF 2025. Also selected are Thailand’s Panu Aree with “Fātimah” and Indonesia’s Mouly Surya with “The Wife Who Can See Dead People (Or Jinn).”

Seven Korean projects round out the slate. Lee Sangcheol, whose films “Jesus Hospital,” “The Snob” and “Blesser” have all screened at BIFF, presents “PARK Deul-bi.” Choi Hyunyoung, whose “Memories of a Dead End” played in Korean Cinema Today – Panorama, brings “All’s Well That Ends Well,” and Lee Hanju, whose debut feature “The Waves of Winter” screened in the Korean Cinema Today – Vision strand, presents “The Family Table.” The remaining Korean selections are Park Syeyoung’s “Satellite of Love,” Park Joonho’s “Kuroshio” (Park also directed “3670”), actor-director Ryu Hyunkyung’s “Dog Fight” and novelist-filmmaker Kim Jinyeong’s “Red Hunger”; Kim previously directed “The Other Child.” The seven projects span psychological thriller, queer romantic comedy, black comedy, mystery thriller and drama.

Selected projects will be nominated for awards backed by sponsors.

ACFM is the official market of the Busan International Film Festival 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.

*Asian Cinema Fund (ACF) Script Development Fund Recipients**TCCF 2025 APM Next Award Winner