International
Asian Cinema Fund unveils 14 bold bets for 2025
MUMBAI: The Asian Cinema Fund (ACF), a key pillar of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), has unveiled its 14 official selections for 2025 — drawn from a record 850 submissions, up 23 per cent from last year. The picks, spanning three categories, champion fearless storytelling and fresh cinematic forms, offering a snapshot of the region’s creative pulse.
Three projects have been selected under the ‘Script Development Fund’, each awarded KRW 10 million and a spot at the Asian Project Market 2025. Black Star Angel tells the gripping tale of a woman breaking free from war-fuelled trauma. Heaven Help Us! revisits the Manila Film Center disaster with aching intimacy, and New Life maps the emotional terrain between a grieving mother and daughter.
The ‘Post-Production Fund’ shortlist includes four films — two Korean, two from the wider region — all set to bow at the 30th Busan International Film Festival this September. Korea’s Coming of Age dives into class and generational shifts, while The Observer’s Journal serves up a quirky, tense thriller. From India, If on a Winter’s Night interweaves complex love stories, and The River that Holds Our Hands traces displacement and memory across borders.
Meanwhile, the ‘AND Fund’ for feature-length documentaries has backed seven titles with an eye for visual poetry and political poignancy. Korea’s Sea, Star, Woman and Sprouted Potato Lives On explore personal loss and collective memory, while Weathering Architect meditates on Seoul’s vanishing skylines through the lens of veteran architect Joh Sung-yong. From Asia, Kampuchea wrestles with inherited trauma, and Oma profiles a silent yet steely survivor.
The chosen projects — sharp, subversive, and deeply local — promise to elevate Asia’s voice on the global screen. BIFF 2025 runs 17–26 September at the Busan Cinema Center, with the 20th edition of the Asian Contents & Film Market slated for 20–23 September at BEXCO.
International
Russia-India cinematic spectacle Persimmon of My Love set for grand Moscow debut
Hindi cinema style musical revives Indo-Soviet cinema ties for today
MUMBAI: A new chapter in cross-border storytelling is set to unfold as Persimmon of My Love gears up for its premiere in Moscow on 1 April 2026, marking the first large-scale cinematic collaboration between Russia and India in decades.
Positioned as a modern nod to the cultural exchange that once brought Indian classics to Soviet audiences, the film blends Hindi cinema flair with Russian storytelling, aiming to rekindle a long-standing cinematic friendship.
Directed by Marius Weisberg, the musical comedy follows two brothers navigating a lively world of music, family and romance. The lead roles are played by Demis Karibidis and Mikhail Galustyan, with Karibidis also contributing as a screenwriter.
Shot entirely in India, the production leans heavily into Hindi cinema style spectacle. Filming took place across Mumbai studios and the cities of Udaipur and Jodhpur, whose architecture was used to create the fictional setting of Khurmada. A crew of over 350 worked on the project, with large-scale sequences featuring up to 1,000 extras.
The film also brings Indian creative talent into the mix. Dance sequences are choreographed by Jay Kumar, while music by Zurab Matua features songs in both Hindi and Russian, adding to its cross-cultural appeal.
Backed by TNT channel, MyWayStudio and the Russian Cinema Fund, the project reflects a broader push to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
With its mix of colour, comedy and cross-border collaboration, Persimmon of My Love is not just a film release but a reminder that cinema, much like music, travels well across borders.
