Notes from The Funds Book – Hong Kong vs. South Korean Government Funding

Here are some interesting bits taken from The Funds Book from the Cannes Film Market. It outlines all the major government-provided film funds, budgets, and basic criteria. I compared Hong Kong and South Korea, not based on market share (since that would be an unfair comparison), but based on their criteria.

Check out Hong Kong first:

Hong Kong -Film Development Fund

Objectives of the Funding Programme: The FDF aims to fund projects and activities which contribute towards the development of the Hong Kong film industry.

Maximum amount: 515,000 euro

Main selection criteria: Must be beneficial to the overall development of the Hong Kong film industry. Must serve the interests of the entire film industry, and not only an individual private company or a consortium of private companies and should mainly be non-profit making in nature [emphasis mine].

Anyone expecting to see the old school Hong Kong action mentality, think again.

Here’s South Korea:

South Korea – Seoul Film Commission

Objectivesof the Funding Programme: To support the local film industry as well as to promote the city for international coproductions and location for the shooting of foreign films

Eligible genres: Live action, Feature Films, TV Drama, Documentary, and anything with minimum total running time 60 min.

If you’re doing a genre co-production in Asia, consider South Korea.