Culture 3 min read By Trevor Kendall
Netflix's Creative Asia Returns to Busan With Weta FX AI Panel and 'Possible Love' Masterclass
Netflix brings Creative Asia back to the Busan International Film Festival for a third year on Oct. 10, with Weta FX CTO Kimball Thurston discussing AI and cinematographer Kim Ji-yong leading a masterclass on 'Possible Love.'
Netflix is returning to the Busan International Film Festival with Creative Asia, its flagship training and networking program, for a third consecutive year. The event is scheduled for Oct. 10 at Dongseo University's Centum Campus, with the lineup shaped in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival, the Asian Film Commissions Network and the Motion Picture Association.
The program's centerpiece is a panel on artificial intelligence featuring Kimball Thurston, chief technology officer at Weta FX, the visual effects company founded by Peter Jackson. Thurston's participation places one of the industry's most prominent effects houses at the center of the ongoing debate over how AI tools are reshaping film production, from previsualization to post-production workflows.
Cinematographer Kim Ji-yong will also appear, delivering a masterclass on the visual language he developed with director Lee Chang-dong for the film «Possible Love.» The session is expected to give filmmakers in attendance a detailed look at how the pair approached the movie's imagery, a subject of particular interest in a region where Lee's work has long been studied for its formal precision.
Director Han Jun-hee, whose credits include «The Blue Road,» is among the other speakers confirmed for the day. The mix of technical, directorial and cinematographic voices reflects Creative Asia's broader aim: connecting emerging Asian filmmakers with working professionals across different crafts and giving them practical insight into how international productions are made.
Now in its third year, Creative Asia has become a fixture of the Busan festival's industry programming. The involvement of AFCNet, a network of regional film commissions, and the MPA, which represents major Hollywood studios, signals that the initiative is designed to bridge local production communities and the global market. For Netflix, the program doubles as a talent pipeline and a relationship-building exercise in one of its fastest-growing content regions.
The AI panel in particular arrives at a moment when visual effects studios, streaming platforms and filmmakers are still negotiating how generative and machine-learning tools fit into union rules, credit structures and creative authorship. Weta FX's presence gives that conversation a concrete anchor, since the company's work on large-scale franchises has made it a reference point for what is technically possible on screen.
Busan's status as the largest film festival in Asia gives Creative Asia a natural platform. The event draws filmmakers, producers and executives from across the continent, and the Oct. 10 session is positioned to serve as both a skills workshop and an informal summit on where the industry is heading. Details on registration and the full schedule are expected to be handled through the festival's industry program.
