Empowering Asian Cinema: Solidarity and Creative Alliance
  • Sun, 11 October, 16:30 - 17:30  |  Day 2
  • Producer Hub
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  • #Production
Last year, Korean producers took the stage to share experiences in international co-production. This year, the conversation expands to bring together producers from across Asia. As streaming and short-form contents continue to reshape the media landscape, producers from Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and beyond will share their latest developments in their respective markets, as well as the achievements and possibilities of international co-production, while exploring solidarity and creative alliance as a way forward. The talk session will culminate in a special moment marking the launch of collaboration among Asian producers.
Moderator
HAN Jin (President, VICTORY PICTURES)

Han Jin is the Director of the PGK International Committee and the Chair of KOFIC Korean film global expansion subcommittee, leading international exchange and collaboration, and also the CEO of Victory Pictures, where he develops and produces a wide range of film projects.

Panelist
Yulia Evina BHARA (Producer / CEO, KAWANKAWAN MEDIA)

Yulia Evina Bhara, founder of KawanKawan Media, a production company based in Jakarta. She produced: Hearing, The House on The Moon, The Fox King, Renoir, Tale of the Land, Don't Cry, Butterfly, 24 Hours with Gaspar, Last Shadow at the First Light, Dreaming & Dying, Tiger Stripes, Autobiography, Stone Turtle, Whether the Weather Is Fine, You and I, The Science of Fictions. She was named one of Variety's Women of Impact in 2023. She is Head of International Co-operations of Indonesian Film Agency, Association of Indonesian Film Producers, Advisor of JAFF Market and The Board of Jakarta Film Week.

RHEE Handae (CEO, SIDUS)

Handae Rhee is CEO of Sidus, with credits including Time to Hunt (Netflix), S Line (Canneseries Award), and EP on Bugonia (2026 Oscar nominee). He also leads Sidus's Korea-Vietnam co-productions, including Leaving Mom, via JV with director Phan Gia Nhat Linh.

YAMAGUCHI Shin (Founder/Producer, KNOCKONWOOD INC.)

Yamaguchi Shin is a Tokyo-based producer and founder of KNOCKONWOOD (est. 2005), with over two decades of experience structuring international co-productions across Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. His career has been defined by an ability to connect visionary directors with the financing and partnerships needed to bring ambitious projects to life on the world stage. His credits include Rental Family (2025, HIKARI), starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser, was released by Searchlight Pictures in 73 countries, Love on Trial (2025, Koji Fukada) premiered at Cannes 2025 and IBUKU (2026, Eddie Cahyono) screened in Competition at the 31st Busan IFF.

Bianca BALBUENA (COO / Producer, EPICMEDIA PRODUCTIONS INC.)

Co-founder and COO of Epicmedia Productions Inc, Bianca Balbuena has produced films that have won in Sundance (Filipiñana), Venice (Engkwentro), Cannes (Bleat! via the company), and a three-time-victory at Berlinale (A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery, Cu Li Never Cries, Sunshine). Her other notable titles are Viet and Nam, In My Mother’s Skin, When The Waves Are Gone, That Thing Called Tadhana, Singing In Graveyards. She is the Asia Pacific Screen Awards’ Outstanding Achievement Awardee, Busan’s Asian Film Commission Network’s Producer of the year, Film Development Council of the Philippines Camera Obscura Highest Honoreee, an educator, mother to two girls, wife. She also works closely with different streaming giants.