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The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is pushing forward with a 10 billion won support program for the production of low to medium-budget K-movies to tackle polarization within the Korean film industry, promote diversity, and encourage various types of film productions.
This initiative aims to support feature-length live-action films with a net production budget of over 2 billion won and less than 8 billion won. Funding per film will vary, capped at 30% of the net production budget or within 1.5 billion won.
However, if revenue generated from theaters and domestic and international markets in 2 years after release exceeds the total production costs excluding the support funds, KOFIC will reclaim the support funds within the limit. The films selected for support must sign an investment and distribution contract or secure an individual financing contract within 3 months of signing the agreement. Additionally, production must commence within six months. The budget for the planning and development support program has been increased by 1 billion won, bringing the total to 2.6 billion won. It also aims to support screenplay development, project planning and attract investment for new production companies. A total of 141 projects are expected to receive planning and development support this year alone.
Mid-to-low-budget films emerged as a beacon of hope for the Korean film industry, as, last year, some of them surpassed their break-even points and achieved box office success. Director Nam Dong Hyeop's Handsome Guys (production cost: 4.9 billion won, 1.77 million moviegoers), director Kim Se Hwi's Following (production cost: 7 billion won, 1.23 million moviegoers), and director Kim Han Gyul's Pilot (production cost: 9.8 billion won, 4.71 million moviegoers) performed well despite the dominance of big-budget films such as Exhuma (production cost: 14 billion won) and The Roundup: Punishment (production cost: 15 billion won), both of which surpassed 10 million moviegoers.
This highlights the potential of mid-to-low-budget films in the industry. As such, support for mid-budget films is expected to contribute to revitalizing the production of diverse films and maintaining a creative ecosystem of Korean cinema. The move is also being welcomed by filmmakers as it provides more opportunities for rookie directors and writers.
