More than 250 filmmakers, journalists, and industry leaders from around the world gathered for Creative Asia, a major Netflix-hosted event held in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival. The showcase highlighted the streaming platform's evolving strategies and featured insights from world-class creators, emphasizing the art of storytelling across different mediums.

The star-studded gathering brought together visionary directors including Guillermo del Toro, known for "Frankenstein" and "Pan's Labyrinth," South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, director of "The Ugly," "Hellbound," and "Train to Busan," and Maggie Kang, who helmed "KPop Demon Hunters." These accomplished creators shared their expertise and creative processes with attendees during the weekend event in Busan.

The program opened with remarks from BIFF program director Karen Park, who emphasized the shared mission between the festival and Netflix to promote Asian creativity on the global stage. "BIFF has become a massive stage for showcasing Asian cinema to the world, and Netflix has played a crucial role in breaking down language and cultural barriers," Park stated during her opening address.

Netflix showcased its commitment to developing local talent, with senior production director Sung Q Lee highlighting the success of the VFX Academy, a program run in partnership with the Korea Creative Content Agency. The initiative has proven highly effective, with 70 percent of its graduates finding positions at leading Korean VFX studios, including prestigious companies like Dexter Studios and Westworld.

The afternoon programming featured a series of masterclasses with Netflix's visionary collaborators, including del Toro and Yeon, who shared their unique approaches to the creative process and discussed the art of translating imagination into compelling cinematic worlds. These sessions provided rare insights into the minds of some of today's most innovative filmmakers.

For del Toro, inspiration can be found in every detail of production. "Film is poetry with hardware. You're using tools to produce movement, but every element in the film is a single unit," he explained to the audience. The acclaimed director added that unexpected moments can elevate even the most carefully crafted scene, reminding fellow filmmakers that cinema is as much about discovery as it is about meticulous design.

Yeon Sang-ho offered his perspective on the unique strengths of animation as a storytelling medium. "(Animation) lets you test and refine creative choices almost immediately. The way action, emotion or even something like blood is depicted can be completely different, so animation and live-action each offer their own possibilities for storytelling and imagination," the director reflected during his presentation.

The final session spotlighted "KPop Demon Hunters" director Maggie Kang, who discussed her approach to blending traditional Korean culture and folklore with contemporary K-pop and fandom elements. Kang shared behind-the-scenes stories of her collaboration with top producers and choreographers to create a work that was deeply rooted in Korean identity yet universally relatable to global audiences, demonstrating the potential for culturally specific content to resonate worldwide.