Southeast Asia

Thailand’s New Projects Market; Asia's Gen Z Rises Up; Korea Gets More Cash

Liz Shackleton

17 Sep 2025 — 9 min read

Mad Unicorn

I just got back from Bangkok where I attended the second edition of the Content Project Market (CPM), organised by Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency (CEA). The three-day event (September 10-12) followed CEA’s Content Lab 2025 during which 34 projects across film, series and animation received training on project development, business skills, market access and international collaboration.

During CPM, the projects took part in on-stage pitches in front of potential investors followed by two days of individual meetings. A further 20 projects were invited to participate through an open call. Most of Thailand’s major studios and streamers turned up for the pitches and meetings along with a smattering of international buyers (see more details in my Deadline story).

I’ll admit I went in with low expectations – it was only the second year of a government-organised event, and I was totally confused by the many different government entities involved in Thailand’s content industries. But I was pleasantly surprised – the event was well organised and the project teams were battle ready. The event venue, True Digital Park on the east side of Bangkok, is an interesting space that gave off both both creative and tech start-up vibes. Another building, Cloud 11, that will house creator studios and performance spaces is opening across the street, so perhaps Bangkok is gaining an edge as a host city for creative start-ups and conferences.

The only downside to the event is that many projects were at a very early stage of development – some were little more than an idea or a treatment. I understand the pent-up demand for emerging filmmakers to meet potential investors, and the event certainly did all it could to meet that demand, but buyers usually want to see projects that are a little more packaged.

As for the various government agencies involved in Thailand’s creative industries – I understand more now, but it’s complicated. CEA sits directly under the Office of the Prime Minister and supports around 15 different creative and cultural industries. It has been working closely with Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), which is still in the process of being established by the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, an initiative of the former Prime Minister, who was forced to resign a few months back (more on that below).

THACCA has already funded some Thai productions, including Cannes Critics Week award winner A Useful Ghost, and I’m told its budget has been secured for next year, but anything beyond that depends on the incoming administration, which has promised to hold elections early next year. Bangkok International Film Festival (September 27-October 15), a joint initiative of THACCA and Thailand’s Department of Cultural Promotion (DCP), has moved up from its original planned date in January 2026, most likely to ensure it’s not derailed by the change of administration and upcoming elections.

Despite the political drama, which is fairly standard just about anywhere these days, there’s a lot of energy in this market and an interesting mix of funding between private studios and streamers, various government agencies, the 30% production rebate and international players including Netflix and Korea’s CJ ENM. Along with the box office success of How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Thailand is also building a global fanbase for BL content and produced several Netflix breakout hits including start-up series Mad Unicorn.

An upcoming ‘Streamlined Guide to Thailand’ will explore the market in greater depth. I’m also working on a ‘Streamlined Guide to Streaming Levies & Investment Obligations’ – which looks at how EU member states and other countries around the world are regulating streamers. Hopefully the research will provide some useful insights for Asian markets.

**Business matching at Thailand's Content Project Market**

Asia’s Gen Z Rises Up & Demands Change

Over the past few weeks we’ve been watching Asia’s youth mobilising on social media and organising protests in Nepal, Indonesia and Philippines – each sparked by separate specific events but all voicing the same frustrations against nepotism and corruption.

In Nepal, at least 72 people died in a brutal crackdown as protesters rose up against government corruption, the lavish lifestyles of ‘Nepo Kids’ and a social media ban. But in an echo of events in Bangladesh one year ago, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was eventually forced to resign on September 9. His replacement, Nepal’s first female prime minister Sushila Karki, was selected via a popular vote on the Discord social platform. She has promised to hold elections in March next year.

This time last year, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country following similar protests sparked by reforms to the quota system for government jobs. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed to lead an interim government until elections are held in February 2026. Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, whose 2012 film Television premiered as the closing film of Busan film festival, was appointed as Minister of Culture in the interim government.

Indonesia has also been rocked by protests with the trigger there a housing handout of $3,000 for national lawmakers in a country where the minimum monthly wage is just over $300m. At least eight people have died in the unrest, including a 21-year-old Gojek delivery driver, with protests spreading from the capital Jakarta to cities across the country.

President Prabowo Subianto ordered security forces to take firm action against the protests but also announced that the housing allowance, as well as overseas trips and other perks for politicians, would be cut.

**Protesters in Nepal, September 2025 (Credit: Pratisha Manandhar)**

Philippines has also seen a wave of protests over a corruption scandal in which 15 companies are accused of siphoning off $1.7bn (PHP100bn) in flood control projects, in a country suffering some of the worst ravages of climate change (although there are few parts of Asia that haven’t experienced extreme heat, heavy rains and severe flooding this summer).

The scandal has also touched the film industry as two of the accused contractors, Cezarah 'Sarah' and Pacifico 'Curlee' Discaya, named film industry figures in their sworn testimony before the Philippines Senate. While those accusations have been denied, it’s a messy business, and not one that the Philippines’ Gen Z protesters are likely to forget soon.

One unexpected element uniting the movements in Nepal, Philippines and Indonesia – the straw hat pirate’s flag from Japanese anime One Piece has been waved by protesters in all three countries. Whatever the intention of the original manga, it has been adopted as a symbol of defiance against inequality and corruption across Asia.

Thailand is currently quiet but protests earlier this summer were a factor in the ousting of the former PM after the leaking of a phone call between her and Cambodian leader Hun Sen, during the Thai-Cambodian border war, in which she appeared to be criticising a Thai military official. It’s been a long hot summer in a world of rising inequality, but through social media, manga and mobilisation, Asia’s Gen Z is raising its voice.

**One Piece flag at protests in Yogyakarta (Credit: Wisnu Yudha)**

Korean Government Increases Film Funding By 80%

Good news for the beleaguered Korean film industry on the eve of Busan International Film Festival – South Korea’s Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young recently announced that the government will pump an additional $108m (KRW149.8bn) into film support next year, an increase of more than 80% from the current budget.

The funding package – the sector’s largest allocation outside of emergency pandemic relief in 2022 – includes $5.8m (KRW8bn) for planning and development, up from the current $3.4m (KRW4.7bn); while mid-budget films will receive $14.4m (KRW20bn), double the current amount. In addition, a new $1.2m (KRW1.7bn) fund will support production companies with proven track records.

Film festival funding will increase to $3.5m (KRW4.8bn), from the current $2.4m (KRW3.3bn), while indie and arthouse cinemas will receive $1.3m (KRW1.8bn) through a new distribution support programme. According to the Korea Herald, the government will also inject $50m (KRW70bn) into the film programmes of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) to create a $100m (KRW140bn) fund, doubling last year’s contribution. There’s also funding for AI-powered production and a Virtual Production studio in Busan.

Korea Herald also reported that the number of local films with budgets of more than $2.2m (KRW3bn) plummeted to less than 20 this year, compared to around 100 annually before the pandemic, so the news couldn’t come soon enough for the local industry.

“The film industry needs CPR-level emergency measures,” Chae said. “Without urgent intervention, the ecosystem could collapse within years.” On the campaign trail, Korea’s new president Lee Jae Myung, who took office on June 4 following a snap election, promised to strengthen Korea’s cultural industries. (Koreans were also on the streets protesting against the former president in late 2024/early 2025 but that was a four quadrant response and not just a youth movement).

As previously reported in Streamlined, Korean cinema admissions were down by 33% in the first half of this year, although a discounted ticket programme launched by the government this summer has brought some cheer. N.E.W.’s comedy horror My Daughter Is A Zombie, released on July 30, has become the highest-grossing film of the year to date with $38m, while Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly, handled by Plus M Entertainment, opened in second place at the local box office last weekend, following its world premiere in Toronto film festival’s Special Presentations.

Still topping the Korean box office last weekend was Japanese anime juggernaut Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, which is Korea’s third-highest grossing film of the year to date with $35m.

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