Director Kim Jeewoon Appointed as This Year’s Dean, With Director Mattie Do and Cinematographer Park Jung-hoon as Mentors!

The CHANEL X BIFF Asian Film Academy, a program dedicated to nurturing the next generation of Asian filmmakers, has announced its faculty lineup for this year. Acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon has been appointed as the 2025 Dean, while director Mattie Do and cinematographer Park Jung-hun will serve as directing and cinematography mentors, respectively.

<Director Kim Jeewoon (Source: Cine21)>

This year’s Dean, Kim Jeewoon, is a globally acclaimed director known for his masterful mise-en-scène and unique visual style. He emerged as a promising new talent with his debut film The Quiet Family (1998), and continued to establish his presence with genre-defying works such as The Foul King (2000) and A Tale of Two Sisters (2003). His films A Bittersweet Life (2005) and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) were invited to major international festivals including the Busan International Film Festival, Cannes, and Toronto, receiving widespread acclaim. He later added to his accolades with I Saw the Devil (2010), winning awards at several prestigious global festivals. His latest film Cobweb (2023) was officially invited to the non-competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival, and he is currently working on his second U.S. feature, The Hole.

Director Mattie Do from Laos has been selected as the directing mentor. She made a remarkable debut with Chanthaly (2013), attracting global attention and being selected for prominent talent development programs at major festivals such as Cannes and Berlin. Her second feature Dearest Sister (2016) became the first Laotian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Academy Awards. Her third feature The Long Walk (2019) was invited to the Venice and Busan International Film Festivals, and went on to win the Best Director award in the New Visions section at the 2019 Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival. To date, she remains Laos’s first and only female feature film director.

<Cinematographer Park Jung-hun>

Joining as the cinematography mentor, Park Jung-hun began his career with the film Chihwaseon (2002). He has worked on auteur-driven films such as Grape Candy (2012) and Snow Paths (2015). His commercial feature debut The Villainess (2017) was officially invited to the non-competitive section at the Cannes Film Festival and earned him cinematography awards at both the Buil Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards. He has since expanded his visual storytelling through works like Herstory (2017), Door Lock (2018), A French Woman (2019), and Voice of Silence (2019). Park served as a jury member for the CGK Cinematography Award at the Busan International Film Festival in both 2020 and 2024, and is actively working on OTT series productions.

Record-Breaking 625 Applicants from 40 Countries for 2025 BAFA

Global Success of AFA Alumni Garners Attention

The 2025 CHANEL X BIFF Asian Film Academy received a record 625 applications from 40 countries—the highest number since the program’s inception in 2005. Notably, the proportion of female applicants and participants has significantly increased, and there has been a remarkable surge in applications from Pakistan and China.

Under the guidance of this year’s distinguished faculty, AFA alumni continue to shine on the global stage. Editor Nitin Baid, a 2010 AFA graduate, worked on Homebound (2024), which was officially invited to the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. AFA graduates also made waves at the Berlin International Film Festival. Director Khozy RIZAL, who completed the BAFA program in 2023, had his film Little Rebels Cinema Club (2024) officially invited to the Generation Kplus section. Meanwhile, Mes fantômes arméniens (2025) by Tamara Stepanyan, an AFA alum from 2007, was selected for the Forum Special section.

Additionally, Queerpanorama (2025), featuring sound design by 2015 graduate Cyrus Tang, was selected for the Panorama section. Through Your Eyes (2025), with cinematography by 2019 graduate Lincoln Yeo and sound design by Ye Min Sng, was invited to the short film competition, further highlighting the growing presence of AFA alumni in prestigious global festivals.

The 2025 CHANEL X BIFF Asian Film Academy’s selected participants will take part in a 20-day intensive program including professional training and mentoring from September 7 (Sunday) to September 26 (Friday). As part of the program, they will produce eight short films, which will be officially screened at the 30th Busan International Film Festival.

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From emerging curators at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago to leading ecologists at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, from artists reshaping the Venice Biennale to visionary directors at the British Film Institute, the CHANEL Culture Fund continues its century-long commitment to bold creativity and the arts in support of a better future.

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