Script support
The Motion Picture Association and Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) have launched the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, which will award five $10,000 script development grants to filmmakers in the Asia Pacific region. The announcement was made during the MPA American Film Night in Bangkok in conjunction with MPA Thailand’s Success Story held this year at the Rosewood Hotel.
Now in its 17th cycle, this grant is reserved for APSA Academy members and their collaborators. Sompot Chidogasongponse, the 2021 winner who received a grant through producer Apichatpong Weerasethakul, has announced the 2026 edition. The resulting film, 9 Temples to Heaven, premiered in the sidebar of this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
APSA President Tracy Vieira said the fund remains one of the organization’s most important initiatives, supporting filmmakers beyond the festival’s profile. The winners will be announced at APSA’s 18th annual awards ceremony on October 30th on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Content initiatives
The BBC has published its commissioned report for 2025/26, showing it is investing £1.5 billion ($2.01 billion) in original TV content and £400 million ($536 million) in original radio content, working with 310 independent TV production companies and 269 radio production companies across the UK. Approximately 59% of network television commissioning costs are spent on Nations and British regions, with almost 70% of television time qualifying as regional production, with the BBC’s 50% allocation. Radio commissions outside London amounted to 45.8%.
The broadcaster also exceeded its annual target of £80 million ($107 million) for creative diversity spending on TV and radio, devoting £196 million ($263 million) of its existing commissioning budget to content that meets its diversity criteria. Through its Diversity Development Fund, the BBC has committed more than £2 million ($2.6 million) to support more than 100 people in mid- to senior-level production roles across the UK.
Kate Phillips, the BBC’s chief content officer, said the result “demonstrates that the BBC continues to play an important role in the UK’s creative sector”.
global group
CJ ENM’s Mnet and Universal Music Group’s Republic Collective have entered into a partnership to produce and launch a new global girl group through the audition series “Girls Planet 2027,” which is scheduled to premiere in 2027. Republic will be involved in the entire process of the project, from production to promotion of the debut act in the United States and international expansion.
The show will follow the 2021 series “Girls Planet 999,” which produced the K-pop group Kep1er, and Mnet’s “Boys II Planet,” which introduced the group Alpha Drive One in September 2025. Alpha Drive One’s debut album “Euphoria,” which includes the single “Freak Alarm,” has sold approximately 1.44 million copies since its release in January.
Harry H.K. Singh, head of music entertainment at CJ ENM, said, “We are thrilled to work with Republic to discover and launch the next major global girl group.”
More than 36,000 people have applied since online applications opened on May 1st via Mnet Plus, with almost a third of applicants coming from the Americas. On-site auditions will be held at KCON LA 2026, which will be held in downtown Los Angeles from August 14th to 16th.
