By Variety | Created at 2026-09-16 10:51:29 | Updated at 2026-09-16 11:52:12
4 hours ago
Netflix and the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) are bringing back Creative Asia for a third consecutive year, with the program set for Oct. 10 at Dongseo University’s Centum Campus.
BIFF, the Asian Film Commissions Network (AFCNet) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) all helped shape this year’s lineup.
Creative Asia is Netflix’s flagship initiative for helping emerging Asian creators develop their ideas for the screen. This year marks the first time the program will include workshops, giving aspiring writers direct access to Netflix content executives.
Netflix and the MPA co-host “AI in Filmmaking: New Tools, New Possibilities,” a panel on how AI is being adopted across the APAC filmmaking industry. Moderated by film critic Youn Sung-eun, the panel brings together Sung Q Lee, Netflix’s senior director of APAC production; Kimball Thurston, chief technology officer at Weta FX, the visual effects studio co-founded by Peter Jackson; and director Kang Yun-sung (“Run to the West,” “The Outlaws”).
Cinematographer Kim Ji-yong will deliver a masterclass on shaping the visual world of Venice winner “Possible Love,” walking through the choices he made with director Lee Chang-dong, including trading artificial lighting setups for natural light, with scenes from the film used to illustrate his points. The film is playing at BIFF.
The masterclass slate opens with “Location and Storytelling,” moderated by Busan Asian Film School professor James Bang, with input from Lauren Cooper of the Location Managers Guild International, “Perfect Days” producer Reiko Kunieda and Sung Q Lee. Director Han Jun-hee, known for “D.P. 1 & 2,” “Weak Hero Class 1 & 2” and “The Blue Road,” follows with a session on shaping unexpected material into resonant stories.
Industry panels also include “New Voices in Filmmaking: What’s Ahead,” moderated by BIFF programmer Jeong Jihye, featuring Namkoong Sun (“Love Untangled,” “Time to Be Strong”) alongside “My Aunt” co-directors Wi Eun-kyoung and Son Gwang-min, whose short film won the Grand Prize at Korea’s 2026 Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. An invite-only Creative Economy Exchange will also run.
The two new workshops are led by Netflix content executives. Christopher Mack, the streamer’s director of content acquisition, leads “The Art and Archetypes of Cinematic Storytelling,” while Keo Lee, Netflix’s director of creative strategy, leads “Understanding the Buyer’s Perspective,” covering how projects get greenlit and financed.
The event builds on two prior editions with BIFF and a stop last year in Indonesia at the JAFF Market, extending Netflix’s push to deepen ties with regional creative communities.
