EFP European Film Promotion is pleased to announce that Swiss-Korean director Hae-Sup Sin (Switzerland) has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Allwyn Residency Fellowship. Awarded as part of EFP FUTURE FRAMES – Generation NEXT of European Cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the fellowship offers one emerging European filmmaker the opportunity to take part in a tailor-made professional programme in Los Angeles.
Hae-Sup Sin, one of ten young European filmmakers presented in this year’s EFP FUTURE FRAMES selection, impressed the jury with his short film Ban Dal (Half-moon). His work focuses on cross-cultural stories set within diasporic communities, exploring questions of identity, belonging and cultural memory.
The Allwyn Residency Fellowship is awarded for the fourth time by Allwyn, European Film Promotion and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Organised in collaboration with the Hollywood talent agencies UTA (United Talent Agency) and Range Media Partners, the one-month residency in Los Angeles includes individual mentoring, job shadowing, specialised training and one-on-one meetings with producers, distributors and other key professionals from the US film industry.
EFP FUTURE FRAMES Executive Director Irina Ignatiew-Lemke describes the programme’s purpose as follows: “European cinema brings incredible inner strength, courage, and a unique diversity of stories to the global stage. Our mission at EFP is to help these young voices be heard far beyond Europe’s borders.”
“At Allwyn, we firmly believe that success favours those who have the courage to step out of line and seize opportunities. Supporting the next generation of creators is a very meaningful investment in the future of European culture for us. Our goal is to help build bridges between extraordinary talent and the contemporary world of the film industry. I sincerely congratulate this year’s recipient of the Allwyn Residency Fellowship, Hae-Sup Sin, and I wish all the other participants in the EFP FUTURE FRAMES programme that this year’s edition will mark the beginning of a long and successful international journey for them,” says Robert Chvátal, CEO of the international Allwyn Group.
“The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has always been a place of discovery. Thanks to the EFP FUTURE FRAMES initiative and the Allwyn Residency Fellowship, we can take it a step further. We’re not only introducing young talents to the festival audience, but we’re also actively helping them launch their careers in the very heart of the global film industry,” explains Karel Och, Artistic Director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Hae-Sup Sin is a Swiss-Korean director from Opfikon, Switzerland. He studied at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), where he completed his bachelor’s degree in 2019, followed by a master’s degree in feature film directing in 2025. He is currently developing his first feature film, Some Korean Summer.
The Allwyn Residency Fellowship has been awarded annually since 2023. The first director to receive the award was Amalie Maria Nielsen (Denmark) followed by her compatriot William Sehested Høeg in 2024. Last year, Simon Schneckenburger (Germany) won the film residency in Los Angeles.
Launched in 2015, EFP FUTURE FRAMES – Generation NEXT of European Cinema has established itself as a key European platform for emerging directing talent. Each year, ten outstanding film school students and graduates from across Europe are nominated by EFP member organisations and selected by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During the festival, the filmmakers present their films to the public and take part in a curated industry programme including mentoring, networking, promotion and meetings with festival programmers, sales agents, producers, film sponsors and other key members of the international film industry.
EFP FUTURE FRAMES – Generation NEXT of European Cinema, held in collaboration with Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, is made possible thanks to the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA, Allwyn, and the participating national film promotion institutes, EFP’s member organisations: Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Czech Film Center, Finnish Film Foundation, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales / ICAA, Lithuanian Film Centre, SEE NL, Slovenian Film Centre, Swedish Film Institute, SWISS FILMS and Unifrance. The main media partner is Variety, with Cineuropa and Fred Film Radio serving as additional media partners.
About Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and one of the world’s oldest A-list festivals. It is widely regarded as the leading film industry event in Central and Eastern Europe.
About Allwyn
Allwyn is a leading multi-national lottery-led entertainment company operating across Europe and the US. As a partner of KVIFF and EFP FUTURE FRAMES, Allwyn supports emerging European filmmaking talent and will once again award one FUTURE FRAMES director a scholarship in Los Angeles.
