Launched in 2015 and now in its sixth cycle, the Asian Docs Co-production Network Project brings together emerging documentary filmmakers from universities in five countries—Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, and Thailand—to collaborate over two years on documentaries about Asia. The four project teams formed last year have developed and produced works that cross perspectives particular to each country while capturing cultural experience shared across Asia.
At the 18th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, the four participating teams present four films that view Asian cultures from fresh perspectives and register the significance of collaboration across the barrier of language.
| Date | Sep 11 (Fri) 10:00 |
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| Venue | MEGABOX Kintex |
| Program | Young documentary filmmakers selected by universities in five East Asian countries work with faculty mentors from the participating schools to jointly develop and produce documentaries, which are presented in a showcase and screenings at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. |
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| Objectives |
- To explore new models of international co-production through collaboration among Asian universities, film festivals, and young documentary filmmakers |
| Period | January 2025 - December 2026 |
| Participating Universities |
South Korea: Korea National University of Arts, Yonsei University China: Xi¡¯an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Yunnan Arts University Thailand: Chulalongkorn University Taiwan: Tainan National University of the Arts Japan: Komazawa University, Nagoya University of the Arts, Kyoto University of the Arts |
| Name | Affiliation | Mentor Profile |
|---|---|---|
| IHARADA Haruka | Kyoto University of the Arts | Born in Okinawa in 1991, she is an independent curator specializing in art under political crisis in Asia, and is actively involved in supporting and collaborating with artists working in this field. Notable examples include Docu Athan, a project collaborating with filmmakers in Myanmar following the 2021 coup. |
| KIM Jinhyuk | Korea National University of Arts | He worked as a producer at the Korea Educational Broadcasting (EBS) Corporation from 2002 to 2013. His representative production is Knowledge Channel e. Since 2016, he has been a professor at the Korea National University of Arts, where he has taught documentary courses. In 2017, he directed a documentary film 7 years featuring stories of laid-off journalists. In 2022, he filmed a documentary, Aftermath, based on the history of pro-Japanese sentiment during the colonial era of Japanese imperialism in Korea. |
| LI Xin | Yunnan Arts University | Li Xin has been lecturing in documentary filmmaking and visual anthropology theory at Yunnan Arts University in China since 2003. He is an experienced filmmaker who has made over a dozen ethnographic films. As the co-founder of From Our Eyes, Li Xin trained over 200 local ethnic minority documentary filmmakers in communities in Tibetan and Southwest China. |
| SEO Hyunsuk | Yonsei University | Seo Hyunsuk explores place and sensation through writing, video, and performance. Place-based performance projects often utilize virtual reality to build layers of experience and memory, questioning the foundations of our senses and expanding the boundaries of the ¡°work.¡± |
| Sopawan BOONNIMITRA | Chulalongkorn University | Sopawan Boonnimitra is a Thai filmmaker, curator, and educator working across documentary and fiction. Her debut feature, The Isthmus (2013), premiered in the New Currents Competition at the Busan International Film Festival. Her latest feature documentary, First Cuts Are the Deepest (2026), participated in Docs by the Sea, Vision du Réel Works-in-Progress, and the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival Pitching Forum, before making its World Premiere at Doc Edge Festival 2026, where it received the Around the World Award. She is currently developing her new feature documentary, Up to the Buffalo, which has been selected for Doc Edge Industry, Docs by the Sea, and the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), where it received the Sustainable Future Award. Alongside her filmmaking practice, she teaches at the Department of Motion Pictures and Still Photography, Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University. |
| TEZUKA Yoshiharu | Komazawa University in Tokyo | Tezuka Yoshiharu Ph.D (London) is a professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Komazawa University in Tokyo. His documentary work includes Over the Threshold (1989), which received the Best Film Award from the Royal Institute of Anthropology UK and, Award of Encouragement from the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. His academic publication includes Japanese Cinema Goes Global: Filmworkers Journeys (Hong Kong University Press, 2012). |
| TSAI Chin-Tong (Tony) | Tainan National University of the Arts | Tsai Chin-Tong is a professor of the Graduate Institute of Documentary & Film Archiving at Tainan National University of the Arts (Taiwan). He holds the Dean of Academic Affairs currently. His work focuses specifically on documentary, visual sociology, and collective memory. His recent publication can be found in the arts, cultural studies, and mass communication journals. |
| JEON Gyuchan | Korea National University of Arts | Jeon Gyuchan is a Professor at Korea National University Arts, teaching documentary, journalism, and media cultural studies. Interested especially in the topics of collective memory, urban theories as well as trans-Asia media activism. Directed and produced such documentary films as Looking4Mia and Island. |
| HEO Chul | Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University | Heo Chul is an award-winning filmmaker, media scholar, and professor currently teaching Filmmaking at Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University. His feature The Return (2017) won the Golden Zenith Award at the Montreal World Film Festival and reached wide audiences in Korea and beyond. His short New Normal (2021) has earned Best Director at the Vertical Vision International Film Festival and Grand Prix honors at the Vertical Movie Festival and Yatay Festival. He speaks regularly at DMZ Forum and international platforms on AI-driven and virtual production practices and the future of documentary. He specializes in AI-driven filmmaking, virtual production, and transnational co-productions. |