Korean and Italian Producers Sign Co-Production Pact at Busan Market

The Producers Guild of Korea (PGK) and Italy's CNA Cinema e Audiovisivo signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday at the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), creating a direct line between the two countries' producer communities.

PGK President Lee Dong-ha signed for the Korean side at the Italian Pavilion. Francesco Lattarulo, CNA's national vice president, signed on behalf of national president Gianluca Curti.

What does the deal cover?

Under the terms, each body will act as a contact point for joint productions and pass along information on public funding available to producers in each country. The partners will also run regular exchange programs:

• Yearly meetings
• Showcases
• Business-to-business sessions

These will take place in Korea and Italy, as well as at international markets including ACFM and Rome's Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo (MIA).

"Italy and Korea now have a co-production framework between governments, but films are made by producers, not by frameworks," Lee said. "This MoU puts the two producer communities in direct contact so that the agreement turns into projects that reach audiences in both countries."

Building on a government accord

The MoU follows the film co-production accord already in place at government level between Italy and South Korea. That earlier accord set the institutional ground rules. The new pact targets the work itself: co-productions, shoots in Italy and exchanges between producers.

Curti called the MoU an important step in a relationship that began when CNA first came to Busan and saw the potential of working with South Korea. "We welcomed the bilateral co-production agreement between our governments; today, we are delighted to begin a direct collaboration with the Producers Guild of Korea," he said. "I am confident that this partnership will give our companies opportunities to work together and turn shared ideas into ambitious projects."

In 2023, CNA brought Italy's government to ACFM, which resulted in the country taking its own pavilion at the market from 2024.

Who are the signatories?

PGK counts nearly 300 members working across theatrical features, documentaries and series. Its producers are behind titles including "Parasite," "Train to Busan" and "Squid Game."

CNA Cinema e Audiovisivo is Italy's largest representative body for film and audiovisual businesses by number of member companies. It sits within CNA, a national confederation of around 620,000 entrepreneurs with a presence in all 20 Italian regions. Its membership spans producers, executive producers, distributors, sales agents, technical and post-production firms and dubbing houses.

The Italian deal extends a run of international partnerships the guild has struck since the pandemic. PGK already holds MoUs with the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Hong Kong Movie Production Executives Association, the Indonesian Film Producers Association (APROFI) and Brazil's Audiovisual Industry Union (SIAESP).

A second signature the same morning

The same morning at ACFM, PGK signed a separate co-production MoU with the Sakha Filmmakers Association, which represents producers from the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in Russia's Far East.

With contact points, funding information and yearly exchange programs now agreed, the test will be whether the government-level framework converts into finished films that reach audiences in both countries — the outcome Lee explicitly set as the pact's measure of success.