Five independent producer organizations from Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan launched a coalition, the Asian Producers Alliance (APA), at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM).

The five bodies include the Producers Guild of Korea (PGK), Indonesian Film Producers Association (APROFI), Philippine Independent Producers Group (PIPG), Hong Kong Movie Production Executives Association (HKMPEA) and the Taiwan Producers Association (TPA).

In the initial stages, the alliance aims to support regional and international co-production and protect creators’ intellectual property, while evolving into a consensus body with a formal decision-making structure.

Its founding declaration reads: “We, independent film producers from Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan, gathered today in Busan, declare the formation of the Asian Producers Alliance. For years, we have faced the same changes alone – in our own markets, in our own languages. Today we choose to face them together. We will advance co-production across Asia, so that our stories can be made together and travel further.”

The alliance was launched at the close of a seminar entitled ‘Empowering Asian Cinema: Solidarity and Creative Alliance’, hosted by PGK at the ACFM Producers Hub.

Moderated by Han Jin, Director of PGK’s International Committee, the panel brought together producers Yulia Evina Bhara (Indonesia’s KawanKawan Media), Rhee Handae (CEO of Korea’s Sidus) and Shin Yamaguchi (Japan’s Knockonwood) to discuss the state of their industries and the possibilities of co-production in an environment reshaped by streaming platforms and short-form content.

APA’s inaugural team includes PGK President Lee Dong-ha and APROFI Chairman Edwin Nazir as Co-Representatives, with Han Jin and Yulia Evina Bhara as Co-Sectretary Generals. The Representatives and Secretary Generals willserve one-year terms and are elected each year at the General Assembly held during ACFM.

PGK President Lee Dong-ha said: “Asian producers have faced the same challenges separately, market by market. Starting today, we face them together. APA is not a declaration – it is a practice of solidarity that begins now.”

APROFI Chairman Edwin Nazir said: “APA gives Asian producers a foundation to connect and collaborate. Stronger together, we reach further.”

PIPG Founder Member Bianca Balbuena said: “In a time where divisiveness has dominance, the creation of APA signals a safe space for producers in Asia where we cultivate harmony and collaboration in the film industry, and where collective resources, expertise and vision are shared in solidarity.”

HKMPEA Chairman Johnny Wang said: “In the past, we as producers were accustomed to following the paths paved by our predecessors. Now, with the birth of the APA, we are embarking on an entirely new and unprecedented journey. We believe that in today’s globalized context, international co-productions will bring powerful synergies to every APA member.”

TPA Chairperson Yating Chang said: “It is truly our honor to participate in APA. We are really looking forward to connecting with other producers’ associations around Asia.”

APA will hold regular online meetings every quarter, with a General Assembly convening each year during ACFM in Busan. The alliance is welcoming other producers bodies across the region to join and stress that membership is not limited to one organization per territory.

APA’s next gathering will be at the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in December, under the theme of creators’ IP.

UPDATED with official statements & dates: Producers of Quentin Tarantino‘s stage play The Popinjay Cavalier today confirmed what Deadline reported a month ago: Sacha Baron Cohen will star in the director’s first stage play, which will premiere on the West End next spring.

The venue and opening date were also revealed. Previews begin on February 23 and the production opens March 18 at London’s Phoenix Theatre.

According to an announcement on the play’s website, tickets go on sale tomorrow with priority access beginning at 9 a.m. BST and GP kicking off at 12 p.m. BST.

Baron Cohen who, like Tarantino, will make his West End debut with the project, said in a statement: “Quentin called, I said yes before he even got to say his first ‘motherfxxxer.’ When the best director in the world calls, you don’t ask questions, I am beyond delighted that we will be losing our West End virginity together, I have made him promise not to be gentle.”

The remaining cast is yet to be revealed.

As reported by Deadline in March, the new stage play, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be a “swashbuckling comedy” set in 1830s Europe.

Tom Rothman, the chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, and Friedman, said in a dual statement, “It is a joy and an honour to be developing this play with Quentin — and obviously quite an adventure. How lucky we are that one of the great storytellers of our time has chosen to make his theatrical debut.

“To see Quentin in action in a rehearsal room is extraordinary. His delight in working with actors, fencers, acrobats, musicians and our creative team is infectious, and there is such pleasure in hearing his delicious language come alive and discovering what his world can become on stage.

“And now we have Sacha Baron Cohen at the heart of it all: a fearless, brilliantly inventive actor with the wit, mischief and daring this role demands. We feel immensely fortunate to be producing this show. Audiences are in for a tremendous treat.”

PREVIOUSLY on September 10: Sacha Baron Cohen will star in an upcoming West End production of Quentin Tarantino’s stage play The Popinjay Cavalier, Deadline hears.

According to sources close to the project, Cohen will portray the title character when The Popinjay Cavalier lands at an as-yet-undisclosed West End venue in spring 2027.

As reported by Deadline in March, the new stage play, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be a “swashbuckling comedy” set in 1830s Europe.

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The synopsis: “The Popinjay Cavalier is a rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen. A sweeping celebration of theatre and its heightened romance, told with Tarantino’s signature style and unmistakable wit.”

Among Sonia Friedman Productions’ credits are Paddington: The Musical and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

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Tarantino revealed last year that he was working on a play. At the time, he said: “The play is written. It is absolutely the next thing I’m going to do. We’ll start the ball rolling on it in January. … It’s probably going to take up a year and a half to two years of my life.”

Zac Ntim contributed to this report.

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Sacha Baron Cohen and 300 fans, all of whom were dressed like the performer’s satirical character Ali G, took to the streets of London on Sunday ahead of the release of Ali G: Who Iz I?

Cohen was decked out in a yellow “Ali G” hoodie and matching pants as the hip-hop journalist that he originated on the sketch comedy series Da Ali G Show, which debuted in the U.K. in 2000 and later aired on HBO. Accompanied by the hundreds of individuals dressed similarly, some of whom were sporting wrap-around sunglasses and even fake goatees, the star led his cohorts on a tour of London landmarks that culminated in Cohen overseeing the Ali G Lookalike Competition.

Cohen’s Ali G and the look-alikes rode double-decker buses, enjoyed a boat party on the Thames, posed for photo opportunities near Big Ben and Marble Arch and ordered hundreds of hamburgers at the McDonald’s in London’s famed Leicester Square. The journey ended at Cineworld Leicester Square, where Cohen awarded a winner for the contest.