Busan International Film Festival introduces ACFM Awards for first time; Indonesia’s “Goldfish” takes three honors

New milestone for Asia’s film industry as ACFM gets off to a successful start

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), now in its 29th year, concluded its core film-industry platform, the Asia Contents&Film Market (ACFM), on Oct. 13. According to the Busan International Film Festival secretariat on Oct. 14, the ACFM closing reception at BEXCO in Haeundae-gu, Busan, featured the inaugural ACFM Awards ceremony, putting a strong spotlight on the business achievements of Asia’s visual-media industry.

The inaugural ACFM Awards were created to evaluate and promote tangible business achievements and outstanding projects, going beyond simple networking. Indonesia’s “Goldfish”, directed by Aditya Ahmad, drew particular attention from filmmakers around the world after taking three honors, including the Q Cinema Special Award. Set in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi region, “Goldfish” follows a boy’s arduous journey as he flees his father, earning recognition for its strong storytelling and original direction.

This year’s ACFM, which opened on Oct. 10 and ran for four days, hosted active industry exchanges across a range of areas, including project development and production support, trading of underlying intellectual property (IP) and demonstrations of cutting-edge new technologies. The market was widely credited with serving as a key channel for demonstrating the self-sufficiency and competitiveness of Asian cinema amid rapid changes in the global content market. Meanwhile, Asia’s largest film festival, the Busan International Film Festival, will conclude its 10-day run with a closing ceremony on Oct. 15.