Far East Film Festival's Focus Asia Announces 19 Projects and New $20,000 Post-Production Award

This includes 13 projects for the All Genres Project Market and six titles for Far East in Progress. The selection process drew from more than 120 submissions across 24 countries.

The All Genres Project Market features projects spanning genres such as drama, coming-of-age, art-house, magical realism, crime, sci-fi, and fantasy. Each project represents a distinct territory. The seven-member selection committee chose the slate.

Project Market Selections The 13 projects in the All Genres Project Market are: “A Way to Etretat,” directed by Su-Won Shin and produced by June Film (South Korea); “Adarna,” directed by a Spanish director and produced by Elastica Films and Matriuska Producciones (Spain); “Dear Sơ̂n An,” directed by Kim Quy Bui and produced by Varan (Vietnam) and A Company Film (Germany); “Holy Mother,” directed by Sinung Winahyoko and produced by KrossKultur Media (Indonesia); “I Have to Fuck Before the World Ends,” directed by Andrea Benjamin Manenti and produced by Volos Films Italia, Citrullo International (Italy), Epicmedia (Philippines), and Puffin Pictures (France); “Naked in Glendale,” directed by Haohao Yan and produced by Seesaw Productions (China) and Q&A Entertainment (U.

); and “New Life,” directed by Yingtong Li and produced by Yitis Film (China). Additional projects include: “Noodles, Our Love Was Instant and Forever,” directed by Whammy Alcazaren and produced by Daluyong Studios and TwoFold (Philippines); “Route 7,” directed by Jinrung Chun and produced by Cloud11 Studios (Japan); “Snake in the Dreamscapes,” directed by Lou Yi An and produced by Content Digital Film and Hope Content Marketing (Taiwan); “Somewhere in the South,” directed by Ce Ding Tan and produced by Evil Genius Studio (Malaysia) and Giraffe Pictures (Singapore); “UFO Club,” directed by Milena Kaneko and produced by K2 Pictures and Bunbuku (Japan); and “Wake Me Up When the Mourning Ends,” directed by Kok Rui Lau and produced by Thousand Sails Pictures (Hong Kong), Volos Films Italia (Italy), and Janji Pictures Production (Malaysia).

The Far East in Progress platform supports Asian films in post-production seeking international distribution and festival premieres.

) and Oui Production (France); “Picturehouse,” directed by Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo and produced by Girelle Production (France), East Films (Vietnam), Add Oil Films (Singapore), and Daluyong Studio (Philippines); “Sanamsar,” directed by Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav and produced by Media Crackers LLC (Mongolia); and “The Quiet Applause,” directed by Sungbin Byun and produced by Ssarinamu Film (South Korea).

New Award and Partnerships Focus Asia has debuted the White Light/Focus Asia Award, providing $20,000 in professional post-production services from White Light Studio in Bangkok.

The award will go to the strongest project from either the All Genres Market or Far East in Progress. This is the first time White Light Studio has participated as a prize partner. The selection committee for Far East in Progress is headed by Marie-Pierre Vallée.

Organizers noted the section's track record with alumni projects. For example, “Ah Girl” by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year and is now in competition at FEFF28, while Yukari Sakamoto’s “White Flowers and Fruits” premiered at San Sebastian IFF in 2025.

> "Ah Girl” by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year and is now in competition at FEFF28.

— Variety, 2026 Italy’s Ministry of Culture serves as the primary institutional backer of Focus Asia. Cinecittà provides organizational support, including a special opening-night reception and a showcase of Italian producers. The Italian Trade Agency ICE has deepened its partnership to increase attendance of senior Asian decision-makers.

Expanded Programming Separate co-production labs are organized in collaboration with Cinecittà, CCIDAHK Hong Kong, and Telefilm Canada.

Europa Distribution and Europa International return as partners, with the latter participating for the second year. New programming for 2026 includes a Think Tank on animation developed with Anima Mundi, a Box Office Study panel on the global performance of Asian titles, and a session on vertical content examining microdrama's effect on IP development and digital distribution.

The 2026 edition of Focus Asia is expected to draw more than 200 industry delegates from Europe, Asia, and Canada.

The market runs April 27-29 in Udine, Italy.