‘Goldfish’ and ‘A Chronicle of Minor Things’ Sweep Busan Asian Project Market Awards

Two films won five of the eleven prizes at this year's Busan Asian Project Market (APM), the co-production market running alongside the Busan International Film Festival. Indonesian director Aditya Ahmad's "Goldfish" took three awards, and Indian filmmaker Tribeny Rai's "A Chronicle of Minor Things" (working title) took two. The ceremony on Oct. 10–13 was the first combined awards event of the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM).

"Goldfish" won the QCinema Special Award, the Kongchak Studio Award and the VIPO Award. Ahmad's first feature is set in South Sulawesi, where he grew up, and follows a boy who flees his father. Muhammad Zaidy and Meiske Taurisia produce. The project also received backing from this year's ACF Script Development Fund before its selection for APM's business meetings.

Rai's project, produced by Kislay, won the Sørfond Award and the APM Busan Award. The APM Busan Award citation praised its original story and structure, the way Rai works a social issue quietly into the narrative, and noted that its setting and themes could appeal to audiences outside India.

Who else won?

Six other projects picked up prizes:

• CJ ENM Award: Reza Rahadian's "Casparina," a family drama built from a personal story by the Indonesian actor-director.
• Kantana Picture Award: Kim Jinyeong's "Red Hunger."
• Kantana Virtual Production Award: Panu Aree's "Fātimah."
• CathayPlay Award: Yen Hao-hsuan's "Uncle," which draws on the director's own life to examine family, shame and belonging in fast-changing Taiwan. Jurors praised it for giving a character with an intellectual disability full depth and dignity.
• Songwon Award: Park Syeyoung's "Satellite of Love."
• ArteKino International Award: E Del Mundo's "Once Upon a Time in the Philippines."

What does the record interest mean?

The numbers point one way. APM received a record 604 submissions from 48 countries this year. Its official selection held 30 projects from 17 countries, and eight of them shared prizes across 11 categories. The market also hosted 746 business meetings involving 133 companies, while the Busan Story Market ran 520 meetings with 136 companies.

ACFM director Ellen Y.D. Kim framed the awards as a starting point rather than a finish line. "Today's awards recognize the promise of these projects and the stories they have yet to bring to life. ACFM's awards do not end in Busan. They travel on to Jakarta, Manila, Oslo and Bangkok," she said.

The ceremony also honored three international co-productions with Korean involvement that won the ACF Co-Production Support Fund in August. Fukada Koji's "Grateful" receives KRW60 million ($41,700). Jakrawal Nilthamrong's "Rhizome" and Boo Junfeng's "Trinity" receive KRW40 million ($27,800) each.

Documentaries and tech prizes

Doc Square, ACFM's documentary work-in-progress showcase, handed out two new prizes. Three projects won the Impact Asia Award, each with $5,000: Ma Chi Hang's "Moon Is Watching You," Jang Minkyung's "Our Waves," and "Restless Farewell," directed by Yang Nan and He Peiyun. "Restless Farewell," about young migrant workers in precarious jobs in Shanghai, also took the Newstapa Award, which includes KRW10 million ($6,900) for production and the chance to screen a 60-minute cut on the Newstapa Foundation's channels once the film is complete.

From the Busan Story Market, "My Upstairs Neighbors" from Clayhouse and "Friend Request" from Ryoung Studio won the JAFF Market IP Connection Award. Both head to Indonesia's Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival for its JAFF IP Connection program.

At InnoAsia, Taiwan's imCore Corp. won the MPS Award, chosen by industry votes. Korean startups Lumicraft and Reproduction took the AWS Award, which carries KRW10 million ($6,900) in AWS cloud vouchers. Lumicraft builds Castlink, an AI casting platform; Reproduction makes Pre-Flow, a tool for screenplay analysis and sharing production data.

For the winning filmmakers, the cash and festival pathways now move these projects closer to production. For APM, the record 604 submissions confirm its place as the region's main dealmaking floor — and the Busan International Film Festival runs through Oct. 15.