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Creative Asia at BIFF 2025: Asian Storytelling, Visionary Voices, and Industry Innovation Take Center Stage
Entertainment
20 September 2025
GlobalSouth Korea
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Today, over 250 filmmakers, press, and industry leaders gathered for the second Creative Asia, presented by Netflix in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Asia's next generation of creators immersed themselves in a day packed with creative exchange and learning, hearing from visionaries like Guillermo del Toro, Yeon Sang-ho, Maggie Kang, Yui Miyamori, and Leste Chen.
Minyoung Kim, VP of Content (APAC ex-India) at Netflix, unveiled new APAC production insights on how Netflix is continuing to support local productions across the region, followed by a dynamic panel on production innovation led by Netflix's Senior Director of Production (APAC ex-India), Sung Q Lee.
Building a Stronger Production Ecosystem Together
During her welcome, BIFF Program Director Karen Park underscored the shared vision between BIFF and Netflix in promoting Asian creativity. BIFF has become a massive stage for showcasing Asian cinema to the world, and Netflix has played a crucial role in breaking down language and cultural barriers, she noted. This shared mission is contributing to a global shift where authentic Asian stories are now embraced as universal human stories.
Minyoung Kim shifted the spotlight from content to the people who bring stories to life in her keynote, Production is an incredibly important part of what Netflix does. Behind the magic are thousands of talented production people, making millions of decisions to bring each story to the screen. The experience of our production partners matters deeply to us. We're committed to creating environments where creativity flourishes, where teams feel safe, respected, and inspired - because better working environments and healthier team cultures lead to higher-quality, more creative work. Kim underscored Netflix's ongoing commitment to support the creative community, noting that over the past decade, Netflix has partnered with more than 250 local production partners across APAC.
In every country, Netflix tailors its approach to developing programs that fit the unique needs and strengths of each local industry, like Reel Life in Southeast Asia and the VFX Academy in Korea. Today, Kim announced the Lumina Initiative in Australia, developed with local partners Bus Stop Films and Spectrum Films; and unveiled that Creative Asia will expand its reach at JAFF in Indonesia this December for Southeast Asian creators. From 2021 to 2024 alone, more than 8,000 people have benefited from Netflix's skills and talent development initiatives in the region.
In the APAC production panel that followed, Sung Q Lee built on Kim's sentiment on partnership and supporting local teams as they evolve their productions every day. We're creating better working environments where creators can safely and boldly bring their imagined worlds to life. In safety, mental health, or post- and pre-production, we dont want to just comply with local standards, but to help set new ones, he says. We also want production teams to have access to the best skills training, so they can use the latest tech or enter new career paths in jobs that haven't existed before.
Panelists Yongsu Lee (Producer, Korea), Chartchai Nat' Ketnust (CEO of Whitelight, Thailand), and Momoko Nishiyama (Intimacy Coordinator, Japan) shared insights on the evolution of production in their respective countries, from improved guidelines for set safety to the increasing importance of intimacy coordination and respect training.
With 15 years of experience in the industry, Nat has seen firsthand how much production in Thailand has evolved. He notes that the culture has shifted: there's greater coordination and preparation, from daily safety meetings to improved working hours and transparent communication. Before filming, there are more discussions to ensure actors are comfortable with what's expected. This helps prevent issues after the fact, like actors asking for scenes to be cut because they weren't okay with them. The process and standards are really shifting, and it's leading to healthier, safer sets, he says. Training is provided not just for directors and producers, but for all departments, and there's a growing awareness of the importance of mental health and emotional safety.
In Japan, having an intimacy coordinator on set is still relatively new, only emerging in the last five years. Initially met with skepticism, the role is now widely valued. People on set feel safer and more empowered to speak up, and there's much more open discussion. Now, it's okay to say no or to express what you're comfortable with. It's not just the actors and directors - staff are happier too, because they know what to prepare for in advance, she says.
She also clarified that intimacy coordinators are just one part of a broader support system on set. Netflix brings in separate experts for issues like mental health and harassment. It's been eye-opening to see respect training and on-set counselors become standard, even beyond Netflix. This is new, but it's already making a difference across the industry.
Beyond mental safety, there's also the more practical aspect of physical safety. Yongsu Lee shared his experience producing the upcoming Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated?, which required on-location shoots in four different countries - an example of large-scale production that demanded careful coordination. One way his team ensures an ongoing atmosphere of safety on set is by gathering the entire crew for daily briefings. It's become routine for us to gather the whole team before filming. Assistant
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