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SCRIPT SUPPORT
The Motion Picture Association and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) have opened the 2026 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, offering five $10,000 script development grants to filmmakers across the Asia Pacific region.
The announcement came during MPA American Film Night in Bangkok, paired this year with MPA Thailand Success Stories at the Rosewood Hotel.
Now in its 17th cycle, the grant is reserved for APSA Academy members and their collaborators. Sompot Chidgasornpongse, a 2021 recipient whose grant came through producer Apichatpong Weerasethakul, unveiled the 2026 edition; the resulting film, “9 Temples to Heaven,” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar this year.
APSA chair Tracey Vieira said the fund has remained one of the organization’s most significant initiatives, supporting filmmakers beyond festival recognition. Winners will be named Oct. 30 at APSA’s 18th awards ceremony on the Gold Coast, Australia.
CONTENT COMMITMENT
The BBC has published its Commissioning Report for 2025/26, showing investment of £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 U.K. Some 59% of network TV commissioning spend went to the Nations and English regions, with almost 70% of TV hours qualifying as regional productions, above the BBC’s 50% quota. Radio commissioning outside London reached 45.8%.
The broadcaster also topped its annual £80 million ($107 million) creative diversity spend target for TV and radio, putting £196 million ($263 million) of its existing commissioning budget toward content meeting its diversity criteria. Through its Diversity Development Fund, the BBC put more than £2 million ($2.6 million) toward supporting over 100 people in mid- to senior-level production roles across the U.K.
Kate Phillips, BBC chief content officer, said the results “show the vital role the BBC continues to play in the U.K.’s creative sector.”
GLOBAL GROUP
CJ ENM‘s Mnet and Universal Music Group‘s Republic Collective have struck a partnership to produce and launch a new global girl group through “Girls Planet 2027,” an audition series set to premiere in 2027. Republic will work across the full arc of the project, from production through the debut act’s U.S. promotion and international rollout.
The show follows “Girls Planet 999,” the 2021 series that produced K-pop group Kep1er, and arrives after Mnet’s “Boys II Planet,” which introduced the group Alpha Drive One in September 2025. Alpha Drive One’s debut album, “Euphoria,” led by single “Freak Alarm,” has sold some 1.44 million copies since its January release.
“We are delighted to join forces with Republic to find and launch our next major global girl group,” said Harry H.K. Shin, head of music entertainment at CJ ENM.
More than 36,000 people have applied since online submissions opened May 1 via Mnet Plus, with almost a third of applicants coming from the Americas. On-site auditions follow at KCON LA 2026, running Aug. 14-16 in downtown Los Angeles.
