Projects Produced by Alia Bhatt, Payal Kapadia & Kani Kusruti In Busan's APM 2025 Line-up
The line-up includes Difficult Daughters, directed by Soni Razdan, which is being produced by Alia Bhatt and her sister Shaheen Bhatt, along with veteran Indian indie producer Alan McAlex (Santosh).
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Kani Kusruti, who starred in Cannes Palme d'Or winning film All We Imagine As Light, is teaming with the director of that film, Payal Kapadia, to produce The Last Of Them Plagues, directed by Kunjila Mascillamani. Kusruti attended BIFF last year as a jury member for the New Currents competition.
Elsewhere, the line-up includes several other filmmakers with ties to BIFF, including Indian director Pradip Kurbah, recipient of the 2019 Jiseok Award, with new project Moon; Bangladeshi filmmaker Biplob Sarkar, previously invited to BIFF New Currents and returning with LGBTQ+-themed The Magical Men; and Malaysia's Lau Kok Rui from the BIFF 2022 Asian Film Academy, who is presenting Wake Me up When the Mourning Ends, with Soi Cheang, Stefano Centini and Wong Kew Soon on board as producers.
The line-up also features five Chinese-language projects, with three from Taiwan focusing on female protagonists. Japan is represented by three projects from established directors Shiraishi Kazuya, Fujita Naoya and Zhang Yaoyuan, with stories revolving around the realities of foreign laborers, a reclusive woman's struggle for identity, and a multifaceted view of what Japanese youth face today.
Seven Korean projects have also been selected from both emerging and mid-career directors, including Gilddong from Park Riwoong, who won the New Currents Award at BIFF 2024 for The Land Of Morning Calm; Arrival Of Water from Jo Heeyoung; Dance Dance Revolution by director Choi Hana (More Than Family); and The Descent by director Kim Hyoeun following her BIFF 2024 invitation for Tango At Dawn.
Asian Project Market (APM) will be held for four days from September 20-23 during the 20th edition of the Asian Contents & Film Market at BEXCO.
ASIAN PROJECT MARKET 2025:
*Supported by ACF Script Development Fund
Arrival Of Water (Korea, Japan)Dir: Jo HeeyoungProd: Park Sejin Black Star Angel* (Armenia, US)Dir: Christine HaroutounianProd: Maxwell Schwartz, Christine Haroutounian Bodoi (Japan)Dir: Shiraishi KazuyaProd: Kii Muneyuki Buy My Car (Japan, China)Dir: Zhang YaoyuanProd: Ichiyama Shozo, Kunizane Mizue, Mo Zhulin Churching Of Women (Jordan)Dir: Darin SallamProd: Deema Azar, Ayah Jardaneh Dance Dance Revolution (Korea)Dir: Choi HanaProd: An Boyoung The Daughter (Hong Kong, China)Dir: Guan TianProd: Vivian Bao, Ding Ningyuan The Descent (Korea)Dir: Kim HyoeunProd: Park Hyunsuk Difficult Daughters (India)Dir: Soni RazdanProd: Alia Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt, Alan Mcalex, Grishma Shah Disorder (Iraq, Germany)Dir: Shawkat Amin KorkiProd: Mehmet Aktas, Shohreh Golparian, Shawkat Amin Korki Flying Cows (Vietnam)Dir: Nguyen Pham Thanh DatProd: Nguyen Huu Thi Tuong Vi The Funeral March (Japan, China)Dir: Fujita NaoyaProd: Fujita Kanako, Shiina Yasushi, Zou Aiken, Zou Lin Gilddong (Korea, China)Dir: Park RiwoongProd: Yoon Minyoung Gochi (Korea)Dir: Yoon EunkyoungProd: Stanley Kwak Heaven Help Us!* (Philippines)Dir: Eve BaswelProd: John Torres, Jules Katanyag Lanka (The Fire) (India)Dir: Saurav RaiProd: Sudeepta Sadhukhan, Viraj Selot, Ankita Purkayastha The Last Of Them Plagues (India)Dir: Kunjila MascillamaniProd: Payal Kapadia, Jeo Baby, Kani Kusruti Lost And Cow (Thailand)Dir: Thapanee LoosuwanProd: Chonlasit Upanigkit, Somprasong Srikrajang The Magical Men (Bangladesh, Singapore, France, India)Dir: Biplob SarkarProd: Biplob Sarkar, Fran Borgia, Francois d'Artemare, Sankhajit Biswas Moon (India)Dir: Pradip KurbahProd: Pradip Kurbah New Life* (China)Dir: Li YingtongProd: Annie Song No Country For Old Men (Taiwan)Dir: An BonProd: Chen Pao-Ying Paradis Karaoke (Korea)Dir: Byun SungbinProd: Bong Suji Sama (Canada, Afghanistan)Dir: Brishkay AhmedProd: Brishkay Ahmed, Bonnie Do Silence Of The Looms (Bangladesh)Dir: Mirza Shabnam FerdousiProd: Rajib Mohajan Silent Cry (Korea)Dir: Jero YunProd: Jero Yun The Skull Oracle (Taiwan)Dir: Laha MebowProd: Eric Liang Zara Lin, Chen Yi Chen Snake In The Dreamscapes (Taiwan)Dir: Lou Yi-AnProd: Chen Wen Wen, Kao Chun Ting, Hsu Guo-Lun Stuck Like Babies (Kyrgyzstan)Dir: Dastan Zhapar RyskeldiProd: Veronica Rhyme, Aktan Ryskeldiev, Fernanda Renno Wake Me Up When The Mourning Ends (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy, Taiwan)Dir: Lau Kok RuiProd: Soi Cheang, Stefano Centini, Wong Kew Soon
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When the brand released a limited run of embroidered Converse sneakers in May, the shoes sold out almost immediately. In 2023, Mr. Kumra's brand was a semifinalist for the coveted L.V.M.H. Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Kartik Research is now stocked in 70 locations around the world, including Mr Porter and Selfridges. Next spring, it will arrive at Harrods in London. Mr. Kumra will also introduce a line of women's wear at Bergdorf Goodman in March. 'Next season, India is not going to be the reference for them,' he said, referring to companies like Prada and Louis Vuitton. 'But this is our thing. We built a business on it and we're going to keep doing it.' A few weeks after his show in Paris, at the brand's new brick-and-mortar store in the busy Dimes Square neighborhood in downtown Manhattan, Mr. Kumra was manning the floor. In one corner stood a classic Indian straw daybed. On the wall, there was a painting of Hindu mythology. 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India has ordered the blocking of 25 streaming services — many with millions of viewers and even paying subscribers — for allegedly promoting 'obscene' content, in one of the South Asian nation's biggest digital crackdowns yet. The order affects lesser-known, but wildly popular services like Ullu and ALTT that cater to the country's mass-market appetite for adult and edgy entertainment. This week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued directives to block access to websites and apps linked to 25 streaming services, citing provisions of the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2021, TechCrunch learned. The order came months after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology raised concerns about mature content being streamed on these platforms without adequate safeguards. The Indian government contacted internet service providers and app stores, including Google Play and the Apple App Store, earlier this week to restrict these streaming services, a source privy to the matter told TechCrunch. Some of these services, especially the major ones with millions of subscribers, remained live at the time of filing this article. Google and Apple did not respond to requests for comment. The information and broadcasting minister also did not respond to an email sent Friday. Of the 25 streaming services, 10 offered in-app purchases through their apps on Google Play and the App Store, generating a cumulative $5.7 million since launch with nearly 105 million downloads, per the Appfigures data exclusively shared with TechCrunch. The wide gap between in-app purchases and downloads is primarily due to their low subscription costs — significantly lower than Netflix and other global platforms in India. Notably, some of these streaming services were either never listed on traditional app stores or had been removed earlier, and instead offered their apps as direct APK downloads. As of publication, some of these APK files were still accessible through their websites or third-party platforms. Earlier this month, Indian production company Balaji Telefilms, the parent of ALTT, disclosed that its streaming app generated ₹202.6 million ($2.3 million) in revenue by adding 1.06 million subscribers in 2025. ALTT's content was watched for more than 5.8 million hours, garnering 160 million annual views, the company said. ALTT's app was no longer available for download through Google Play and the App Store in India, and its website was inaccessible on most Indian ISPs at the time of filing this article. Balaji Telefilms did not respond to a request for comment on the ban. Ullu, another relatively prominent streaming service named by the Indian government, remained available via its app on the Indian Play Store, and its website was accessible as well. The service's iOS app, however, was not available for download from the Indian App Store. Ullu Digital, the parent company of Ullu, reported a net profit of ₹212.3 million ($2.5 million) for the financial year 2024, per its regulatory filing reviewed by TechCrunch. The company posted a revenue of ₹931.4 million ($11 million) and declared a net worth of ₹2.08 billion ($24 million). Ullu Digital did not respond to requests for comment. Alongside millions of dollars in subscription revenue, these streaming services were also attracting millions of global visits to their websites. Ullu saw nearly 10% year-over-year growth in worldwide traffic, reaching 1.9 million visits in June, while ALTT recorded over 130% growth to 776,400, per Similarweb. In India, Ullu recorded 18.9% year-over-year growth, reaching 1.8 million visits, while ALTT saw a 157.8% increase to 696,200 visits, Similarweb data shows. Importantly, this is not the first time the streaming business has seen a crackdown in India. Global platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, often face instances of censorship by the Indian government. However, even stricter actions are seen in cases of obscenity despite a lack of clarity on regulations, as watching explicit content featuring fully consensual interactions between adult actors in a private space is not a crime. In 2023, the then Indian information broadcasting minister warned streaming platforms not to serve abusive and obscene content. New Delhi has also blocked thousands of websites streaming pornographic content. On a plea to regulate sexually explicit content in April this year, India's Supreme Court also issued notices to streaming platforms and the Indian government. That said, curbing obscene content remains a challenge even for the Indian government. Smaller streaming services — like those targeted in this crackdown — often reappear under new names, apps, and domains. It is equally difficult for intermediaries like Google, Apple, and internet providers to fully block access, as these platforms often spread through alternative channels and use social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube to attract viewers.
