“Genre talents, introduce yourselves to the world!”
Call for Participants for BIFAN’s It Project and Fantastic Film School


 ¤ÓBusiness meeting at last year’s It Project market (left) and a Fantastic Film School lecture¤Ó
 

The 24^th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Festival Director: SHIN Chul, hereafter BIFAN) is calling for participants for the It Project market and Fantastic Film School. The deadline is May 1 for It Project and May 22 for Fantastic Film School.
 
-Top It Project selection will automatically be entered into Cannes Film Festival’s Fantastic 7 program
 
The It Project is a program that discovers Asian genre film projects. Projects that are targeted include feature-length films from Korea and abroad that have yet to complete the production and investment process. The It Project looks for film projects that represent a variety of genres, such as horror, thriller, fantasy, action, black comedy, and sci-fi. In addition to organizing one-on-one business meetings that give filmmakers an opportunity to find investors, co-production partners, and distributors, the program presents cash awards and post-production awards to outstanding projects selected by a jury of international film industry professionals. A new feature this year includes the launch of the Work In Progress category for projects that have completed filming, for which a total of 300 million won in post-production support is expected to be awarded.
 
An It Project selection will also be entered into Cannes Film Festival’s Fantastic 7 program – a program that was established to promote genre films – to participate in a project pitching session. Last year, the Cannes’ Marché du Film launched Fantastic 7, a pitching program for new genre film projects selected by BIFAN, Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Cairo International Film Festival, Guadalajara International Film Festival, international Film Festivals & Awards – Macao, South by Southwest, and the Toronto International Film Festival. BIFAN presented KIM Sooyoung’s SUPERPOWER GIRL, an official selection of It Project 2018. The deadline for It Project entries is May 1 (Fri.), and announcements regarding the official selections will be sent to the selected projects and will also be posted on BIFAN’s website. This year’s entry for Fantastic 7 will be chosen among one of the best It Project selections to date. An evaluation will be carried out to select a project, and the selection will be announced in May.
 
-Fantastic Film School, an educational program with a practical focus for Asian genre filmmakers

 
Fantastic Film School is a training program for genre film professionals from Asia. Experts working in various fields within the global film industry are invited to teach classes on screenplay adaptation, investment, production, distribution, and other practical topics. Individuals who have worked as directing, filming, or production crew members for shorts and feature-length films are welcome to apply. However, applicants must have a good enough command of English to participate in workshops with film professionals from all over Asia. The deadline for applications is May 22 (Fri.), and those who pass the application stage will be notified individually.  Announcement of the final participants will be made on June 12 (Fri.).
 
Fantastic Film School is in its 13^th year this year. Over the years, masters in the world of genre, such as Ted CHIANG (science fiction writer), Christian L. SCHEURER (conceptual artist), Wayne WANG (film director), and Mick GARRIS (film director and producer), have held in-depth master classes as mentors. The school has graduated a total of 234 students from all over Asia.
 
Entries for It Project and Fantastic Film School can be submitted via BIFAN’s online entry site (http://entry.bifan.kr/). Detailed information can be found on BIFAN’s website (www.bifan.kr), and enquiries may be made by phone or email (It Project: 032-327-6313 (ext. 146),  naff.itproject@bifan.kr / Fantastic Film School: 032-327-6313 (ext. 143), naff.ffs@bifan.kr).
 
BIFAN launched the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF) in 2008. As the world’s first genre film industry platform, NAFF has operated the It Project market and the Fantastic Film School program over the years. A total of 56 films have gone on to be completed through their involvement with the It Project, and of these films, Eerie, Hell Hole, G Affairs, and Respira: Transgenisis, were screened at BIFAN last year. The 24^th BIFAN’s (July 9-16) It Project market will be held for 4 days, from July 11 (Sat.) to 14 (Tue.), and the Fantastic Film School will be in session for 7 days, from July 9 (Thu.) to 15 (Wed.).