Reza Rahadian, Zarrar Kahn Projects Among Udine Focus Asia’s 2025 Industry Selections

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The industry division of the Far East Film Festival, known as Focus Asia, has revealed its complete 2025 schedule. Highlights include Indonesian actor Reza Rahadian‘s first directorial effort, titled “On Your Lap”, and “Suffering is Optional”, a film by Canadian-Pakistani director Zarrar Kahn. These are just a couple of the selections featured.

As a cinephile, I’ve had the pleasure of learning that eleven extraordinary cinematic projects have been chosen from a pool of more than 120 submissions hailing from 31 diverse nations, for the All Genres Project Market at this year’s industry platform held in Udine, Italy, from April 28-30. Additionally, seven promising films from the Far East have been selected for the Far East in Progress section. This is a testament to the vibrant and global nature of our shared passion for filmmaking.

The following films have been chosen for the All Genres Project Market, which highlights productions with Asian-European co-production possibilities: “Cubs,” helmed by Riri Riza and produced by Forka Films from Indonesia; “Delight Delight,” directed by Sunny Yu and co-produced by In Bloom Films of Taiwan in conjunction with E&W Films of Singapore; “Dinosaur Boy,” led by Zhiquan Liu and produced by Dinosaur Studio from China; and “Green Valley and the Amber Marbles,” overseen by Nguyen Nam Vu and jointly produced through a collaboration between An Nam Productions of Vietnam, Purple Tree Content of Singapore, Scarlet Visions of Germany, Flash Forward Entertainment of Taiwan, and Storm Films of Norway.

New selections in all genres include “Left Turn,” helmed by Mami Sunada and brought to you by Ear Films from Japan; “Mr Korea,” masterfully crafted by Sun Hee Engelstoft, a production of Beo Starling (Denmark); “Seoulers,” a collaborative effort between Hee Young Pyun and Jiajun ‘Oscar’ Zhang, presented by Seesaw Pictures out of South Korea; “Suffering is Optional,” directed by Zarrar Kahn and produced by LBG Films Inc in Canada; “The House On The Moon,” the vision of Nelson Yeo from Momo Film Co. (Singapore) and Aview Images (Taiwan); “What’s Left Of Us,” directed by Tyrone Acierto and co-produced by Fusee and Cine Bandits, both based in the Philippines; and “Yellow,” directed by Miyoh Yamaura and produced by BUNBUKU from Japan.

In the Far East Progress, a unique European platform dedicated to films from Asia in the post-production phase looking for international distribution and festival screenings, is showcasing the following titles: “Ah Girl,” helmed by Priscilla Ang Geck Geck and produced by Aggregate Films (Singapore) and IFA Media (Singapore, China, Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand); “Akashi,” directed by Mayumi Yoshida and jointly produced by Musubi Arts Inc. and Experimental Forest Films (both Canada); “Big Little Things,” written and directed by Tong Zhou and co-produced by Snow Island Pictures (Hong Kong) and Three Dots Films (U.S.); and “Ghost of Ueno,” directed by Qi Wang and collaboratively produced across Asia through SS Kobo, W Field, Chuo Eigaboeki, and Odessa Entertainment (all Japan), La Fonte (China), and Seven Plus (South Korea).

Completing the Progress segment are the following films from the Far East: “My Neighbor the Gangster,” helmed by Mario Cornejo and jointly produced by This Side Up and Nathan Studios, both based in the Philippines; “On Your Lap” (Pangku), directed by Reza Rahadian and produced by Gambar Gerak, hailing from Indonesia; and “That Burning House,” directed by Tsai Yin-chuan and produced by The Movie Bird Films Limited Company, originating from Taiwan.

The Asia’s selection committee, comprising Martin Horyna from the Czech Republic, Mike Hostench from Spain, Young-woo Kim from South Korea, Ming-Jung Kuo from Taiwan, Eiko Mizuno-Grey from Japan, and Valeria Richter from Denmark, has put together a diverse roster of filmmakers. This section, titled “The Far East in Progress,” is overseen by Marie-Pierre Vallé’s team. The lineup includes both debut directors and seasoned filmmakers, offering a wide range of genres.

Approximately 200 individuals are anticipated to attend the industry conference, hailing from Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The event promises a wide-ranging schedule consisting of talks, case studies, workshops, individual consultations, and social gatherings for networking purposes.

Previous titles selected by Focus Asia have garnered substantial festival acclaim, such as Antoinette Jadaone’s “Sunshine,” which screened at Toronto in 2024 and Berlinale in 2025, and Nicole Woodford’s “Last Shadow at First Light,” showcased at San Sebastian in 2023.

Once again this year, Focus Asia joins forces with the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes for the third year in a row, offering a two-part program. The journey begins in Udine and concludes at Cannes as part of the Spotlight Asia initiative. Italy’s Ministry of Culture is the primary sponsor of Focus Asia, while TAICCA – Taiwan Creative Content Agency provides additional support. Notably, TAICCA renews its €10,000 ($11,040) Co-production Award for the project that shows the most promise in fostering collaboration between Europe and Asia.

The Far East Film Festival runs April 24 to May 2.

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2025-04-09 18:17