Major tech companies including Google DeepMind, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kling AI and Alibaba Group have signed up to participate in the InnoAsia program of this year’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM). 

The official market of Busan International Film Festival, ACFM says it is expanding its scope around the vision of “an innovative ecosystem in which cinema and technology co-evolve.” InnoAsia aims to connect storytelling with emerging technologies, including AI and the rapidly growing microdrama ecosystem. 

As part of this, ACFM is partnering with global marketing and advertising agency Innocean to co-host the ‘Cinema by Brand 2026’ competition, with the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK) responsible for the selection process and production supervision. 

Cinema by Brand is described as “an innovative investment and production support platform that connects client brands with film creators from worldwide to develop and produce new film content.”

This year, the competition is seeking 20-minute short film projects featuring Hanwha Group’s ‘Space Solar Power’. The first-round selections will be announced in early September, followed by final pitching in late September, with final selections announced during ACFM.  

Each selected project will receive production funding, and the selected projects will then be produced and presented to audiences in Korea and worldwide. A session during the market will also explore the significance and potential of branded content in the content business.

Meanwhile, in addition to Google, Kling AI and Alibaba, other AI-driven tech companies attending InnoAsia will include BytePlus, Netflix’s VFX studio Eyeline Studios, MegazoneCloud, OPIM Digital, the Korean Film Archive’s VFX asset trading platform i.AM, and InShorts. 

AI-driven content production companies joining the program include France-based AI/XR content studio Atlas V, Korea’s Mateo AI Studio, MBC C&I, Climax Studio, For Entertainment, K-Dragon and MooAm. 

Microdrama platforms Mango TV, FlickReels and Vigloo have also confirmed their participation. 

Kling AI will co-host ‘New Cinematic Possibilities: Reimagining Filmmaking with Kling AI’ and ‘Kling AI Networking Reception: From Production Needs Across Asia to Industry Partnerships’ with ACFM. 

AWS and MegazoneCloud will launch the ‘AWS Awards’, linked to startup pitching. Winning companies will be selected following a PoC process and receive AWS cloud vouchers. 

InnoAsia will also continue its partnerships with international markets, including Berlin film festival’s European Film Market (EFM). Lux AI, an EFM-participating startup developing an intelligent lighting solution for virtual production, and Tanja Meissner, Director Berlinale Pro and EFM, are set to visit Busan. 

Through collaboration with TAICCA School under the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, imCore, a startup developing an AI solution to improve VFX production efficiency, will also participate.  

ACFM and InnoAsia 2026 are taking place October 10-13 at the BEXO exhibition centre, during Busan International Film Festival, which is running October 6-15. 

ReelShort has struck a deal with Indonesian streaming platform Vidio to bring hundreds of microdramas to local audiences, as well as co-produce new short dramas with Indonesian production houses. 

ReelShort catalogue titles will be available on Vidio starting on September 1 through the dedicated Short Drama tab, launched by Vidio last year, for subscribers on the TV Extra, Platinum, Platinum Extra, and Ultimate packages. 

The initial offering will include more than 200 titles across popular genres including romance, billionaire romance, fantasy and family drama, with a wide selection of titles available with Indonesian dubbing and subtitles. 

In addition, a “sizable” slate of short drama series co-produced with Indonesian production houses will be made available across both platforms. In a statement, Vidio said the collaboration “creates opportunities for Indonesian creative talent to gain production expertise and knowledge from ReelShort’s global short-drama experience”. 

The partnership, brokered by AR Global Media Network, is ReelShort’s first in Indonesia and is part of a wider expansion across Southeast Asia that has also included strategic partnerships with AIS in Thailand and Globe in the Philippines. 

According to recent data from Media Partners Asia (MPA), ReelShort currently leads the short-form drama market with an estimated 29% global market revenue share. In Q2 2026, Vidio reached 5.8 million paid subscribers across Southeast Asia, ranking third regionally.

MPA data also shows that Indonesia has emerged as Asia-Pacific’s largest market for short-form drama consumption, accounting for 39% of the region’s total audience. 

Sutanto Hartono, CEO of Vidio, said: “Vidio continues to evolve alongside the changing ways Indonesians consume entertainment. As audiences increasingly look for content that fits seamlessly into their daily lives, we want to ensure they can find every type of entertainment they love on a single platform, from live sports, local originals, global entertainment to now, the rapidly growing format of short dramas. 

“Our partnership with ReelShort not only responds to this emerging audience demand but also strengthens Vidio’s position as Indonesia’s most comprehensive entertainment platform, offering more choice, greater convenience, and an even richer viewing experience for our subscribers.”  

Joey Jia, Founder and CEO of Crazy Maple Studio, owner of ReelShort, said: “Our partnership with Vidio marks a significant milestone in ReelShort’s Southeast Asia growth strategy and reflects a fundamental shift in how audiences are consuming entertainment. 

Indonesia is one of the region’s most dynamic entertainment markets. We see tremendous potential not only to expand access to our global catalogue, but also to create original stories for Indonesian audiences. Through our planned local productions with Vidio and Indonesian production partners, we look forward to combining ReelShort’s global experience in developing high-performing short-drama IP with local creative talent to build stories and franchises that resonate locally while reaching audiences across the region and beyond.”