The Philippines has revised its International Co-Production Fund, or ICOF, into two distinct routes for projects involving Filipino and overseas producers. The central idea is straightforward: projects in which the Filipino producer has the largest ownership share can seek a higher level of support, while international productions where the Filipino producer is a junior partner have a separate, lower-threshold path.

The Film Philippines Office unveiled the structure at the Asian Contents & Film Market connected with the Busan International Film Festival. It creates a Majority Track for Filipino-led co-productions and a Minority Track for projects led elsewhere but involving meaningful Filipino participation.

For producers, the change matters because a co-production is not simply a project made in more than one country. It generally involves a negotiated combination of ownership, creative participation, crew employment and a plan to bring the finished work to audiences. ICOF’s new rules make those conditions especially explicit: funding is tied not only to Filipino ownership, but also to Filipino roles on screen and behind the camera, plus a defined release strategy.

What the Majority Track offers

The Majority Track is aimed at features and series led by Filipino producers in partnership with foreign companies. Eligible features and series can receive up to PHP13 million, stated as approximately $210,000. Documentaries and short films have a cap of PHP5 million, or about $80,000.

To qualify, the Filipino side must own at least 20% of the project and must hold the largest stake among all co-producers. That second condition is important. A Filipino producer does not need to own more than half the project under the terms described, but its stake must be bigger than that of each individual foreign co-producer.

The track also specifies a substantial local creative and workforce contribution:

  • Two Filipino people must take above-the-line positions: director, actor or lead actor.
  • Five additional Filipinos must work in key creative or technical crew jobs.
  • The application must include a release strategy for the Philippines and international markets.
  • Foreign partners must be minority stakeholders and provide a matching creative or technical contribution.

Above the line is industry language for principal creative talent, often including producers, directors, writers and major cast. The ICOF framework specifically identifies director, actor and lead actor for its requirement. By contrast, key crew roles refer to the crucial creative or technical work that enables a production to be made, although the supplied outline does not list every eligible job.

In practical terms, the Majority Track is designed to support projects that are genuinely Filipino-led while still encouraging collaboration beyond the country. The financial participation and the work requirements point in the same direction: the fund is not only measuring where a company is registered, but looking for a project with visible Filipino creative involvement and production employment.

Related coverage includes Philippines Reshapes Co-Production Fund With Majority and Minority Tracks.

The Minority Track lowers the ownership bar

The Minority Track addresses a different kind of deal: an international production in which a Filipino producer is the junior co-producer. Its maximum funding is PHP7 million, roughly $113,000, for features and series, and PHP3 million, about $48,000, for documentaries and shorts.

The ownership threshold here falls to 10% or more for the Filipino producer. The personnel requirement is also more flexible. A qualifying production needs either two Filipino above-the-line talents or three Filipino crew members in key creative or technical roles. Applicants must show how the film will reach audiences outside the Philippines.

That flexibility reflects the reality that a minority co-producer will not always control enough of a project to place the same number of personnel as a lead partner. Still, the rules preserve a clear participation test. A small equity position alone is not enough under the stated framework; a project must also include Filipino talent or crew in a meaningful way.

The track could be relevant to producers seeking cross-border projects where creative control, financing and ownership are divided among partners with different capacities. It recognizes that Filipino involvement can be valuable even when the local producer is not the largest stakeholder, while setting a minimum ownership level and staffing standard intended to make that involvement concrete.

Potential bonuses for ASEAN and cultural qualification

Both tracks include the same possible top-ups. Qualifying ASEAN co-productions can receive an additional PHP1 million, listed at around $16,000. Projects that pass a cultural test may receive up to another PHP2 million, or about $32,000.

On the figures provided, a Majority Track feature or series that qualifies for both additions could potentially reach PHP16 million in support, while a Minority Track feature or series could potentially reach PHP10 million. Those are ceiling calculations rather than guaranteed awards, and the separate conditions still need to be met. Documentary and short-film caps begin at lower levels but are likewise eligible for the stated top-ups.

The framework does not detail the content of the cultural test, so it would be premature to assume which themes, languages, locations or production elements it rewards. What is clear is that the fund distinguishes between the base co-production criteria and an additional cultural qualification. Producers considering the bonus will need to establish that their project meets the fund’s specific test rather than treating Filipino ownership or staffing alone as automatic proof.

The dollar conversions are also approximate. The Film Philippines Office noted that they may change with exchange rates, so applicants and partners structuring international budgets should treat the PHP amount as the fixed reference described by the program, not the quoted dollar equivalent.

Why release planning is part of the criteria

Distribution appears in both tracks, but with a slightly different emphasis. Majority Track applicants must present a strategy for release in the Philippines and abroad. Minority Track applicants must demonstrate a route to audiences outside the Philippines.

That means the program is evaluating more than production financing. A release strategy is a plan for how a completed film or series could reach viewers, whether through theatrical, festival, broadcast, streaming or other routes. The framework does not dictate a single release model, but it asks applicants to show that cross-border collaboration will have a corresponding audience plan.

This is a practical requirement for co-productions. Partners from multiple territories can contribute finance and expertise, but those connections do not automatically ensure that a project will be seen in each territory. Requiring international audience planning places distribution considerations earlier in the development process, when producers are still defining partners, stakes and production responsibilities.

The agency role behind the fund

The Film Philippines Office sits within the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the national film agency reporting to the Office of the President. Alongside international co-production incentives, it handles incentives for line production and post-production work. It also offers endorsements for government permits and location referrals.

Those roles put the office at the intersection of creative partnerships and on-the-ground production logistics. Line production generally refers to the practical organization of a shoot, including the budgeting and management work needed to turn a plan into a working production. Post-production is the stage after filming in which material is edited and finished. Location referrals and permit endorsements, meanwhile, can be relevant when a project needs to organize filming in the country.

The redesigned ICOF therefore sits alongside other tools rather than operating as a stand-alone prize fund. Its specific purpose is international co-production, but it belongs to a broader support structure for projects that work in the Philippines or partner with Filipino companies and personnel.

Festival recognition gives the program a track record

Projects supported through ICOF have already earned recognition at several festivals. Tommy Ng Ka Chung’s Another World, co-produced by Filipino company Overmind Corp with partners in Hong Kong and Singapore, won best animated feature at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards in November 2025.

Janus Victoria’s Diamonds in the Sand, which includes Japanese and Malaysian co-producers, received the Mulberry Award for best debut film at Udine’s Far East Film Festival. Marianne Métivier’s Elsewhere at Night won best screenplay at the Torino Film Festival, while James J. Robinson was named best Australian director at the Melbourne International Film Festival for First Light. Mouly Surya’s This City Is a Battlefield won best cinematography at the Bandung Film Festival.

These awards do not establish a formula for future selections, and festival recognition is not itself listed as an ICOF eligibility criterion. They do, however, illustrate the range of works and international partnerships connected to the fund’s prior backing: animation, debut filmmaking, screenwriting, direction and cinematography have all been recognized.

The Film Philippines Office’s separate Film Location Incentive Program also has prizewinning projects in its history. Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana received a special jury award for creative vision in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance, and Morgan Knibbe’s The Garden of Earthly Delights won best film at Torino. That program is distinct from ICOF, a useful distinction for producers assessing whether they are seeking co-production support, location-related incentives, or potentially both where the applicable rules allow.

What the split-track model signals

The revised framework makes the relationship between funding, ownership and local contribution more legible. Bigger maximum awards are attached to projects where Filipino producers lead the ownership structure and place more Filipino talent and crew in consequential roles. A smaller but still substantial avenue is available for international projects where the Filipino producer is a minority partner.

For a team building an application, the essential work is likely to be aligning the deal structure with the selected track before treating the funding amount as settled. Ownership percentages, the largest individual stake, named talent and crew participation, foreign partners’ contributions, and release planning are all part of the proposition. The ASEAN and cultural additions may raise the ceiling, but they are additional qualifications rather than replacements for the core requirements.

For viewers, this type of policy operates well before a title reaches a festival or a release platform. It influences which partnerships have a viable financing path and how those projects incorporate Filipino artists and workers. Readers interested in the human side of independent screen storytelling can also explore this look at a film centered on the everyday work of grief.

The immediate takeaway is not that every international project with a Filipino connection will fit ICOF. It is that the Philippines now presents two defined routes with different thresholds for leadership and participation. That clearer division may help producers identify where their project belongs—and what it must demonstrate to compete for support.