ACFM - Busan, South Korea
Monday, September 22nd | 1:00pm - 5:00pm
ACFM DAY 3 | Event Room C | BEXCO Exhibition Hall 2

Winston Baker is thrilled to bring their Entertainment Finance Forum to Busan for the first time! Covering a range of timely and relevant topics such as attracting third-party investment back, saving Asian movie theatres, achievements in Asian animation, and a Fireside Chat with Simon Cornwell (The Night Manager) on IP development, international adaptations, and producing drama content in Asia. 
Join them as they blend local insight with their signature global and financial perspective.

Full Agenda Coming Soon!

Financial Investment Strategies in the Asian Film Industry (13:15-14:00)

Until just a few years ago, South Korea had one of the most highly developed systems for film financing in Asia, involving a range of investment funds, venture capital with active and passive approaches. These played their part alongside a handful of vertically integrated conglomerates, a slew of independent / stock market-listed film and TV studios and a wide, but not especially deep-pocketed, government funding systems from the state and Korea’s regions.

What drove away the institutional / private sector funding, other than the COVID hiatus? What are the conditions necessary for their return? Can Korean film ever be as financially successful as its international image?  

Achievements of Asian Animation (14:00-14:45)
Animated feature films from Asia are currently enjoying a period of unprecedented success, in theatres, but also online. And the goodness is not only flowing from Japan, the region’s traditional anime powerhouse. There have been records broken by Chinese films (“Ne Zha 2”), Indonesian films (“Jumbo”) and border-crossing success for Korean titles “King of Kings”, the “Teenieping” and “Pororo” franchises and “The Exorcism Chronicles”. And Japan’s “Demon Slayer” legacy is growing bigger with each instalment. This session will examine how and why these successes are occurring, what common factors there may be and how long it can be sustained as AI poses a challenge to traditional production methods and as bigger corporations (Sony, Netflix, Amazon) muscle their way into the sector.

Fireside Chat with Simon Cornwell (15:30 – 16:00)

Simon Cornwell is the co-CEO, and co-founder, of The Ink Factory.  Simon is also the chairman of John le Carré Ltd, the company charged with managing the le Carré estate, and The Ink Factory’s rights-holding partner for its le Carré adaptations.

This session will cover topics including book to film/TV adaptations, building an IP company, drama formats and filming (locations and incentives) in Asia, as The Ink Factory shoots a third version of “The Night Manager” for China’s Youku streaming platform.

The Asian Film Exhibition Industry: Crisis and Recovery Strategies (16:00 – 16:30)

Korea’s cinemas have seen admissions and revenues collapse and fail to fully recover since the pandemic era. Cinemas have closed, a merger of the second and third chains is on the cards and re-releases, and alternate content are only partly plugging the gap left by strong Korean movies. This seminar will look at what caused the crisis, possible ways out and examples of good practise from elsewhere in Asia.

Fireside Chat with Janet Yang (16:30-17:00)

Speaking Faculty

Janet Yang - Emmy and Golden Globe-Winning Producer | Former President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

An Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Hollywood producer, Yang recently completed three one-year terms as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ending her tenure on June 30, 2025. She is the first Asian American to hold this position. In July 2025, she became a founding partner of First Light StoryHouse, a new venture with Miky Lee and Dominic Ng. Yang came to prominence through her collaboration with Steven Spielberg on “Empire of the Sun” (Warner Bros), followed by a long partnership with multiple Academy Award-winner Oliver Stone where she served as Executive Producer on the iconic "The Joy Luck Club" (Disney), and as a Producer on the Golden Globe-winning "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (Columbia Pictures).

Most recently, Yang was an Executive Producer on the Oscar-nominated "Over the Moon" (Netflix, 2020). Her other works include "Dark Matter" (Sundance winner) with Meryl Streep, "The Weight of Water" (Lionsgate) directed by Kathryn Bigelow with Sean Penn, "High Crimes" (Fox) with Morgan Freeman, and cult favorites "Zero Effect" (Jake Kasdan) and "Shanghai Calling" (China Film Group).

Yang was named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood" by The Hollywood Reporter, included in Variety's "Power of Women," and was featured on the Forbes 2024 "50 over 50" List. She is a co-founder of GoldHouse, serves on the board of IMAX China, Forbes APEX, Unified Youth, and Asia Society Southern California’s Advisory Council. Yang is a Presidential Fellow at Loyola Marymount University.

Simon Cornwell - Co-CEO and Founder - The Ink Factory

Simon Cornwell is the co-CEO, and co-founder, of The Ink Factory.  Simon is also the chairman of John le Carré Ltd, the company charged with managing the le Carré estate, and The Ink Factory’s rights-holding partner for its le Carré adaptations.  

The Ink Factory is currently executive producing the much-anticipated second season of The Night Manager for Amazon and the BBC, starring Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Diego Calva and Camila Morrone. The first season of the show, which The Ink Factory also produced, was based on John le Carré’s novel of the same name.  The second season, as well as the forthcoming third season, are original stories written by David Farr, screenwriter of the first season, inspired by the characters and the world of the novel.  The first season of the show, starring Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman (all of whom won Golden Globes for their performances), became a global phenomenon, catching the imagination of audiences around the world and winning multiple awards, including Emmys and Baftas along with the actors’ Golden Globes. 

Prior to season two of The Night Manager, Simon most recently produced The Pigeon Tunnel, a multi-Emmy-nominated film for AppleTV+ by Errol Morris. Simon has also produced Hotel Artemis, written and directed by Drew Pearce and starring Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista, Jeff Goldblum and Sophia Boutella, which was released in 2018, Anton Corbijn’s 2014 feature film adaption of le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as Our Kind of Traitor, directed by Susanna White and starring Ewan McGregor, Damian Lewis, Stellan Skarsgård and Naomie Harris; and Netflix Original Message from the King, directed by Fabrice du Welz and starring Chadwick Boseman, Luke Evans, Teresa Palmer and Alfred Molina.

The Ink Factory also has a commitment to working in Asia and with Asian talent across the world. The Ink Factory has worked with luminary directors including Ang Lee (producing Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, starring Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Steve Martin, Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker among an all-star ensemble) and Park Chan-wook (on the adaptation of le Carré’s novel The Little Drummer Girl, starring Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgård, and Michael Shannon). In India, The Ink Factory produced the Hindi-language adaptation of The Night Manager, which became Hotstar Disney+’s top-rated drama of all time, and the company is currently in pre-production in Hong Kong and Thailand on an unannounced project which will be The Ink Factory’s first Chinese-language production.  The company’s pipeline in Asia includes projects in development in India, China, Japan, and South Korea 

Looking forwards, The Ink Factory will produce a series adaptation of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, based on the John le Carré novel which became a global phenomenon, spending 32 weeks at #1 on the New York Times’ bestseller list and selling tens of millions of copies around the world.  The novel is being adapted for the small screen by Simon’s brother Stephen.

Simon came to The Ink Factory from top European venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners, where he was a senior partner. Prior to that he was founder and CEO of a pioneering company in the field of interactive television. His early career included stints at Granada in the U.K., at the Boston Consulting Group in the U.S., and running refugee relief programs in Thailand.

Simon also sits as a non-executive member of the investment committee of Hiro Capital (hiro.capital), a venture capital partnership investing in the games space.

Christopher Chen - Executive Producer, Reno Studios

Christopher Chen is an executive producer at Reno Studios, specializing in animation, visual effects, and AI-driven production pipelines, currently based in Taipei. Reno is the premier digital effects and post studio in Taiwan, with the most Golden Horse Awards in the VFX category, responsible for the most recent IP titles in Taiwanese Cinema such as The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon, Detention, Dead Talents Society, as one of key service providers for Sony Columbia Taiwan and Netflix Taiwan.

Christopher oversees the international co-productions and cross-border collaborations on behalf of Reno. He was one of the executive producers of Ne Zha 2 (2024) and recently served as VFX supervisor on Mu’awiyah (2025), the most expensive streaming series ever produced in the Middle East. Other credits include ICK (2024), starring Brandon Routh, which premiered at TIFF’s Midnight Madness, and Fight or Flight, starring Josh Harnett, for Sky Cinema.

Also, he previously co-produced Iron Road (2007), the Chinese-Canadian miniseries for the CBC, and the indie feature 5-25-77, working alongside legendary producer Gary Kurtz (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, American Graffiti), with whom he also served as a development executive in London. Drawing on experience across North America, China, Europe and the Gulf States, Christopher focuses on co-production strategies, international deal structures, and building financially sustainable pipelines for high-end content.

Hwang Jae-hyeon - Strategy Communication Director, CJ CGV

Hwang Jae-hyeon, who joined CJ CGV in 2017 as Head of Strategic communications in media relations, external affairs, and ESG management. He is confident that the cinema industry can rebound by technological strengths such as SCREENX and 4DX to enhance the unique experience that only theaters can provide. He actively communicates with the media, the National Assembly, government, and stakeholders in the film industry, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of movie-going in offline cultural life.  

Mia Santosa - Co-Producer, Visinema

Mia Santosa is a dedicated co-producer at Visinema, Indonesia's leading storytelling company, celebrated for its acclaimed multi-genre theatrical releases. Since 2019, Mia has played a key role in most of Visinema’s projects. Currently, she oversees securing funding for both production and distribution across the company’s releases. Her portfolio includes notable films such as "24 Hours with Gaspar" (2023), which competed in the Jiseok Competition at the Busan Film Festival 2023, "Ali Topan" (2023), which had its World Premiere at the Busan Film Festival 2023, and "13 Bombs"(2023), which served as the closing film at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2023.

Mia’s most recent projects include "Home Sweet Loan" (2024), produced by Cristian Immanuel, known for the box office hit "Stealing Raden Saleh" (2022); and "JUMBO" (2025), now sitting at the top of the Indonesian Box Office of all time, and setting a new benchmark as the highest-grossing animated film in Southeast Asia; and “Call Me Dad” (2025), the first co-production with Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM and a local remake of their acclaimed film “Pawn” (2020). Moving forward, Mia aims to elevate Visinema’s releases on the global stage and expand collaborations with international producers to reach wider audiences.

Patrick Frater - F Media, Consultant and Media Industry Journalist

Based in Hong Kong and Bangkok, Patrick Frater has over 20 years of experience writing about and analysing the international entertainment industry. He has worked with publications including Screen International, The Hollywood Reporter and Film Business Asia. He was Asia editor of Variety between 2005 and 2009 and between 2013 and November 2024.

Michael Favelle – Founder, Odin’s Eye Entertainment & Odin’s Eye Animation 

Michael’s first industry gig was at age ten, erasing VHS tapes for one cent each. He never expected to trade dreams of becoming an animator and tennis pro for launching an International Sales Company. With over 25 years of experience, he has represented, packaged and produced over 100 titles with Odin’s Eye Entertainment and Odin’s Eye Animation. Currently serving as an IFTA Board Member, Michael is a champion of independent film and animation, blending creative vision with proven strategies to bring high-concept projects to global audiences.

Neerja Narayanan – Multi-Hyphenate Producer, Studio Executive, Writer

Multi-hyphenate producer / studio executive / writer with track record for major studios in development, production, acquisition, having been based in London, Mumbai, New York, LA, having built & managed local content pipelines for vertically integrated studio divisions for commercially and critically successful multi-language content, including Fox International Productions (21st Century Fox), (now) Disney UTV Studios South Asia, Sony Pictures International Productions, producing cross border successes across formats with artists who are household names regionally and internationally, nominated for and won internationally recognised awards including BAFTA awards, Asia Pacific Awards, Indian National Awards, with festival premieres at Toronto, Busan, London, Shanghai, Tokyo among others. Also worked in production, development, international sales, programming, for Channel Four UK, the UK Film Council, Capitol Films UK, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Forest Whitaker's Spirit Dance Entertainment, and branded content for broadcast TV. Works with artist organizations like Gotham Film & Media Institute, Doha Film Institute, Sundance Film Institute, Portland Art Museum, Creative Hawaii, Hollywood Radio & TV Society, developing programs and mentoring talent for films/TV, and has been jury member and drama selection committee and panelist for the Sarajevo Film Festival CineLink and MIA Rome (Mercata Internazionale Audiovisivo.) She has been a speaker at the Toronto International Film Festival, a keynote speaker for Channel Four, a speaker for the European Producers Club, TiE NYC, Columbia University, Athena Film Festival, Gotham Film Week + written editorials for Filmmaker Magazine among others. Based in LA, is currently producing series / films with Sony TV, Sony Intl Prods, NordiskFilm, Netflix India + building cross-continental slates + creative funds across Asia, Europe, America, Australia, MENA/Africa. 

Bennett Pozil - Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Banking, East West Bank

Bennett Pozil, Executive Vice President of East West Bank, serves as the Head of Corporate Banking.

In his role, Mr. Pozil leads many of the Bank’s commercial banking businesses including Entertainment, New Media, Sponsor Finance, Middle Market and Cross Border Banking.  Mr. Pozil also serves as a board director of the Bank’s subsidiary branch in China.

Mr. Pozil has established himself as a leading cross-border and entertainment industry expert. During the past decade, Pozil has helped build the Bank to become one of the premier entertainment financiers with a significant presence in both the US and Asia markets.

In 2015, Pozil was named one of the Most Influential Lenders in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and was recognized again in 2025 on their Top 100 Bankers list.  Since 2017, Pozil has continued to be named each year in the Variety 500, an index of influential business leaders in the Entertainment industry. He is a frequent speaker and panelist in Asia, appearing at numerous summits, including the BOAO Forum for Asia, the Beijing International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, the Silk Road Conference in Xian, and the Asia TV Forum in Singapore.  Pozil has also been a lecturer and adjunct professor at the Beijing Film Academy.

Mr. Pozil also sits on Gold House’s Creative Advisory Board and on the board of the Asia Society’s Southern California Chapter.

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