What are the key challenges facing Asian film co-productions?

Asian film co-productions struggle with cash flow financing and frequent policy changes by national film bodies, making it difficult to plan long-term.

How is the "Morte Cucina" co-production team navigating the complex requirements?

The team has divided creative and technical roles based on each country's contribution, with Singapore requiring the production to hire local "media talents" and Luxembourg taking charge of sound mixing, while VFX and color grading were handled in Taiwan.

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Asian Co-Productions Grapple with Financing Woes and Shifting Policies

Q: How are Asian co-production teams addressing the lack of cash flow facilities?

Producers are resorting to unconventional methods, such as taking loans from wealthy individuals and offering premiums to investors who transfer funds upfront, to finance their projects.

29 Oct

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Summary

Asian co-productions struggle with cash flow financing, unlike Europe and US
Producers resort to unorthodox methods like loans from individuals to fund projects
Frequent policy changes by national film bodies complicate long-term planning

Asian Co-Productions Grapple with Financing Woes and Shifting Policies

As of October 29th, 2025, the creative team behind the Tokyo International Film Festival competition title "Morte Cucina" has shed light on the complex challenges facing film co-productions in Asia. Speaking at a seminar at TIFFCOM, the festival's market arm, the team discussed the difficulties in balancing the requirements of film funds from the five countries involved - Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, France, and Luxembourg.

The producers explained that the lack of cash flow facilities in Asia, unlike Europe or the United States, has forced them to resort to unorthodox methods to finance the $1.3 million production. This includes taking loans from wealthy individuals and offering premiums to investors who transfer funds upfront.