Asian Producers Alliance Launches at Busan With 'Squid Game' Producer Reading Declaration

"Squid Game" producer Kim Ji-yeon read the founding declaration of the Asian Producers Alliance (APA) on Sunday at the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market, as independent producers from five Asian territories launched a cross-border coalition to push co-production and stronger protection of creators' rights.

"For years, we have faced the same changes alone – in our own markets, in our own languages. Today we choose to face them together," the declaration read. "We will advance co-production across Asia, so that our stories can be made together and travel further."

Kim, a board member of the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK), delivered the text as representatives of the five founding organizations took the stage.

Who is in the alliance?

The coalition brings together:

• the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK)
• the Indonesian Film Producers Association (APROFI)
• the Philippine Independent Producers Group (PIPG)
• the Hong Kong Movie Production Executives Association (HKMPEA)
• the Taiwan Producers Association (TPA)

All members are independent producers. No studios, conglomerates or state bodies are involved. PGK and APROFI initiated the group, and its formation was approved online by all five organizations.

What came before the launch?

The announcement closed the seminar "Empowering Asian Cinema: Solidarity and Creative Alliance," hosted by PGK at the ACFM Producers Hub. PGK International Committee director Han Jin moderated a panel of producers: Yulia Evina Bhara of Indonesia's KawanKawan Media, Rhee Handae, CEO of Korea's Sidus, Yamaguchi Shin of Tokyo-based Knockonwood, and Bianca Balbuena, co-founder and COO of the Philippines' Epicmedia Productions.

The discussion addressed co-production in an industry upended by streaming and short-form content. Yamaguchi offered a concise direction for the conversation: "Think globally." As producers in each market confront the realities of cross-border production, he said, international co-production is becoming an unavoidable part of the industry's future.

The panelists' track records back that claim. Yamaguchi has spent more than two decades structuring international co-productions across Asia, Europe and North America. Rhee leads Sidus's Korea-Vietnam co-productions, including projects developed through a joint venture with director Phan Gia Nhat Linh. Bhara's credits include Cannes winner "Tiger Stripes" and Venice-winning "Autobiography." Balbuena has produced films screened at Sundance, Venice, Cannes and Berlin.

How will the APA operate?

The alliance will begin as a consultative coalition, with co-production across Asia and creators' IP rights among its priorities, and aims to develop into a body with a formal decision-making structure.

Producer organizations across Asia can join during its first year. More than one organization per territory may join. Members plan to meet online quarterly and hold an annual general assembly during ACFM.

PGK president Lee Dong-ha and APROFI chair Edwin Nazir serve as inaugural co-representatives, with Han Jin and Bhara leading the secretariat as co-secretary generals. All four serve one-year terms, with elections held at each year's general assembly.

"APA is not a declaration – it is a practice of solidarity that begins now," Lee said.

HKMPEA chair Johnny Wang said producers had long been accustomed to following paths paved by their predecessors. "Now, with the birth of the APA, we are embarking on an entirely new and unprecedented journey," he said.

The alliance's next test comes quickly: APA will hold its second seminar at the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in December, hosted by APROFI and focused on creators' IP.