The Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), the industry component of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), has announced that Doc Square will take place from October 10 to 13. The initiative aims to bridge Asian documentary filmmakers with global industry professionals by uniting eight partner organizations across five countries.<\/p>\n
Since its inception last year, Doc Square has focused on supporting documentary projects still in development, providing guidance on production financing and distribution strategies. This year\u2019s centerpiece, the Documentary WIP Showcase, operates in conjunction with the Asian Cinema Fund\u2019s Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund.<\/p>\n
The showcase features partners from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Joining the effort this year are the Newstapa Foundation and Japan\u2019s J-Docs Hub, alongside returning collaborators including Taiwan Docs, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, Docs by the Sea, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Sixteen works-in-progress documentaries are scheduled to pitch to festival programmers, sales agents, and distributors on October 10 and 11, helping creators build networks essential for completing and releasing their films. Two new awards are being introduced: the Impact Asia Award, which grants $5,000 to three selected projects, and the Newstapa Award, which offers KRW10 million ($7,400) plus a streaming opportunity for a 60-minute cut on the Newstapa Foundation\u2019s digital platforms. Winners will be announced during the ACFM Awards Ceremony on October 13.<\/p>\n
Doc Square will also feature Asia\u2019s first Impact Day, exploring the societal effects of documentary screenings. The event will release an 80-page report compiling case studies from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. The Korean analysis examines approximately 2,800 works released between 1988 and 2025, supplemented by surveys of 88 creators and interviews with 19 industry veterans. The Taiwanese segment tracks the educational and public screening trajectory of the film \u201cSmall Talk,\u201d while the Japanese study investigates how the box-office success of \u201cWhat Should We Have Done?\u201d fostered audience engagement through mini-theaters and independent screenings.<\/p>\n
Additional programming includes the Documentary Festival & Fund Talk on October 10, featuring global festival programmers and funders, as well as sessions on documentary co-production divided by regional focus. The program concludes with an \u201cAND Talk & Share\u201d workshop for current AND Fund recipients.<\/p>\n
In other festival news, actor Yim Siwan has been appointed as the sole host of the 31st BIFF closing ceremony, where the Busan Awards will be presented. Yim began his career in 2012 with the drama \u201cMoon Embracing the Sun\u201d before transitioning to film with \u201cThe Attorney\u201d in 2013. He later gained acclaim for his role in \u201cMisaeng\u201d and has since appeared in notable projects such as \u201cThe Merciless,\u201d \u201cRun On,\u201d \u201cBoyhood,\u201d \u201cUnlocked,\u201d and \u201cSquid Game\u201d Seasons 2 and 3, as well as the 2025 film \u201cMantis.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs from October 6 to 15 at the Busan Cinema Center and various venues throughout the city, with the ACFM taking place concurrently from October 10 to 13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 31st Busan International Film Festival unveils Doc Square 2026 with new prizes and impact research, while actor Yim Siwan is named host of the closing ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1033,1032,1034,1036,757,756,1035],"class_list":["post-417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-acfm","tag-busan-international-film-festival","tag-doc-square","tag-documentary-films","tag-film","tag-hollywood","tag-yim-siwan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}