A Chronicle Of Minor Things, from Indian filmmaker Tribeny Rai, picked up the APM Busan Award and the Sorfond Award at the close of this year’s Asian Project Market in Busan.

The jury said the project stood out for its original story and narrative structure, and for the director’s ability to weave a social issue subtly into the story, while the project’s distinctive landscape and themes were also recognized for their potential to appeal to international audiences.

Casparina, from Indonesian filmmaker Reza Rahadian, received the CJ ENM Award for transforming the director’s most personal story into a family drama with universal emotional resonance.

Goldfish from Indonesia’s Aditya Ahmad picked up three awards: the VIPO Award, the Kongchak Studio Award and the QCinema Special Award. VIPO recognized the project for its “fresh exploration of identity against a changing environment and the production feasibility demonstrated by the close collaboration between its director and producer”.

E Del Mundo’s Once Upon a Time in the Philippines received the ArteKino International Award for its “original analysis of structural violence and the individual’s capacity to resist it”. Korean filmmaker Park Syeyoung’s Satellite Of Love received the Songwon Award for its original story, strong visual vision, and ability to contain the complex dimensions of love within a simple narrative.

The CathayPlay Award went to Taiwanese director Yen Hao-hsuan’s Uncle, which draws on Yen’s personal experience to explore family, shame and belonging in a rapidly changing Taiwan.

The Kantana Picture Award went to Korean filmmaker Kim Jinyeong’s Red Hunger for its strong storytelling and visual potential, while Fatimah, from Thailand’s Panu Aree, received the Kantana Virtual Production Award for its story spanning dual identities, long-buried family secrets, and a journey across both geographic and internal landscapes.

This year’s APM, which takes place as part of Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), received a record 604 submissions from 48 countries this year, with 30 projects from 17 countries participating as official selections. Eight projects received awards across 11 categories. See below for the full list of award winners.

Asian Project Market 2026 winners:

APM Busan Award: A Chronicle Of Minor Things (India), dir. Tribeny Rai

CJ ENM Award: Casparina (Indonesia), dir: Reza Rahadian

VIPO Award: Goldfish (Indonesia), dir: Aditya Ahmad

ArteKino International Award: Once Upon A Time In The Philippines (Philippines, France Norway), dir: E Del Mundo

Songwon Award: Satellite Of Love (South Korea, Germany), dir: Park Syeyoung

CathayPlay Award: Uncle (Taiwan), dir: Yen Hao-hsuan

Kantana Award (Virtual Production): Fatimah (Thailand), dir: Panu Aree

Kantana Award (Picture): Red Hunger (South Korea), dir: Kim Jinyeong

Kongchak Studio Award: Goldfish (Indonesia), dir: Aditya Ahmad

Sorfond Award: A Chronicle Of Minor Things (India), dir: Tribeny Rai

QCinema Special Award: Goldfish (Indonesia), dir: Aditya Ahmad

Ben Affleck has determined that filming Justice League was a “low point” in his acting career.

The actor-producer-director made a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he opened up to host Josh Horowitz about why making the movie was such a negative experience. Affleck played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 2017 superhero pic.

“The truth is, the experience of Justice League for me was so, so negative for lots of different reasons,” he admitted. “Some of which having to do with where I was personally, some of which having to do with the tragedy that happened during the time, and also the fact that I really saw how not to make a movie like that when the studio is at odds with the filmmaker. You’re really making a mistake. That was what really doomed that.”

After 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice became a major critical disappointment and didn’t meet Warner Bros.’ box office expectations, the studio wanted Zack Snyder’s Justice League to be a lighter tone, despite the filmmaker’s darker creative vision for the film.

During post-production, Snyder stepped away from the movie following the death of his daughter. Warner Bros. then brought in director Joss Whedon to oversee extensive reshoots, which ultimately lightened the tone.

“Boy, that was shitty,” Affleck said. “Him being taken off that movie, and the reshoots that we did — if you want the low point of my career, [it] was that.”

Horowitz also asked the Animals star and director if he had any kind of “epiphany” while working on Justice League as he saw “this film kind of collapsing in front of you.”

“Somebody’s death by suicide, that eclipses everything,” Affleck replied. “And the way in which that was, I thought, frankly, used as an excuse… I just thought that was one of the shittiest things I’ve ever seen. It was so gross. And then the whole environment and vibe, much of which I wasn’t privy to, but that I sort of heard about secondhand in terms of Ray [Fisher] and Gal [Gadot] and other people’s experiences. It was just like, ‘Wow, this is about as gross as it gets.’”

Several years later, fans finally got to see Snyder’s version of the film. A Justice League director’s cut was released in 2021 on HBO Max following a global fan campaign, a strategy shift for the streamer and Warner Bros. investing $70 million to finish visual effects and editing.

“I was really glad and gratified that Zack got to release [his cut], and he did it in a very kind of canny way… manipulated his way into getting his thing released, which was fucking great,” Affleck said. “I was really happy for him.”

Skip to content