Filipino film project receives 2 funding awards in Korean Film Fest

HORROR film project Posthouse, directed by Nikolas Red and produced by Iana Bernardez, bagged two film funding awards at the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF) 2022 Awarding Night on July 12. NAFF was part of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) 2022 in South Korea.

Produced by the Filipino production company Epicmedia, the film won the Discover of Asia Award and the VIPO Award amounting to roughly $15,000.

The Discover of Asia Award is granted to a newcomer to the Asian genre film scene, while the VIPO Award is given to the best project by the festival’s premiere sponsor and partner, Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO), a Japanese non-government organization that supports the creative industry.

The film “represents a new generation of filmmakers keeping the [Philippines horror] flame alive and praying homage to their cinematic predecessors, while making innovative and unique movies, mostly aimed at a raving young audience,” the producers said in a statement.

The NAFF, now on its 14^th edition, has been supporting projects and cultivating filmmakers via its two programs, Project Market and Fantastic Film School.

Posthouse was one of 32 projects from 18 countries participating in the hybrid format of NAFF 2022 this year.

Posthouse tells the story of a worker in a post-production facility which is believed to be haunted. In a race against time, the man must complete a puzzle of disturbing images in order to save his daughter from a sinister entity.

The Posthouse team’s participation at NAFF 2022 was supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) through its International Film Studies Assistance Program (IFSAP).

Mr. Red’s project has been part of two FDCP programs. In 2021, it participated as a short silent film at the Mit Out Sound International Silent Film Festival, and earlier this year, it was a selected project to undergo the Fiction Lab of the Full Circle Lab Philippines.