Asian Film Academy (AFA) partners with CHANEL to introduce the CHANEL X BIFF AFA 2022. AFA is Asia’s premier cinema education program for emerging talent to strengthen capabilities, promote innovation, create the conditions for future filmmakers to dare, and support new and bold ambitions in cinema. Director Rithy Panh has been selected as the Dean to lead the CHANEL X BIFF AFA 2022. Alongside Rithy Panh, director Tan Chui Mui and filming director Um Hye-jung have been confirmed as mentors.

Rithy Panh is Asia’s foremost film director and screenwriter. He received worldwide recognition by winning the Documentary Award at the 10th Amiens International Film Festival for his first documentary Site 2 (1989). He was awarded the 66th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard Prize for The Missing Picture (2013) and won the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award dedicated to the Asian film industry and cultural development at the 18th Busan International Film Festival in the same year. In addition, he won the Berlinale Documentary Award at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival for Irradiated (2020) and recently won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival for Everything Will Be OK (2022).

Malaysian director Tan Chui Mui won the New Currents Award and the FIPRESCI Award (Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics) at the 11th Busan International Film Festival and received the TIGER Award at the 36th Rotterdam International Film Festival for Love Conquers All (2006). Tan Chui Mui won the Jury Grand Prix of Golden Goblet Award at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival for BARBARIAN INVASION (2021).

Um Hye-jung, a graduate of the first AFA program previously partnered with the Busan International Film Festival in 2005. Since then, she has gained solid experience, including winning the 18th Women’s Film of the Year Award for the film Bluebeard (2017) and has supported female filmmakers by sharing her experiences at the 24th Busan International Film Festival.

This year, 407 applicants across 35 countries applied to participate in the CHANEL X BIFF AFA programme, marking the highest application rate in the history of the AFA. Female filmmakers accounted for 67% of applicants, and the CHANEL X BIFF AFA saw increased participation from Central Asia countries such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and various Asian countries such as Nauru and Yemen. The final selected members will produce a film with professional training and mentoring for 18 days from September 27th to October 14th. The completed work will be officially screened during this year’s Busan International Film Festival.

CHANEL has had an ongoing dialogue with cinema since its founding, and the House continues to champion emerging filmmakers through its many cinema initiatives around the world. True to its creator’s vision to be a “part of what will happen next”, CHANEL is dedicated to creating the conditions for emerging filmmakers to thrive. Today, CHANEL is striving to steadily expand its commitment to a culture of 100 years and support emerging creative talent. As part of this effort, the CHANEL X BIFF AFA is expected to play a key role in discovering and empowering young talent in the cinema industry both in South Korea and internationally.

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