ADFEST is proud to announce its Fabulous Five New Directors 2026, a remarkable collection. This year’s five top emerging directors are all female. For ADFEST, promoting the next generation of creators and creative leaders is a vital part of its purpose. Juries of the Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus panel judged 20 scripts submitted from across 5 cities in the region to assess the talent of these rising stars and the work they produced. The 2026 Fabulous Five New Directors will debut their short films to the ADFEST 2026 theme, “Human+” at ADFEST 2026 on Friday 20 March at 11.50-13.00.

Michael Ahmadzadeh, Partner & Executive Producer from electriclimeº, APAC & MENA, Jury President of the Film Craft Lotus and New Director Lotus commented, “This year’s Fabulous Five feels deeply human - personal, honest and led by an exciting new generation of female filmmakers across the region.”

The ADFEST 2026 Fabulous Five New Directors are:

Ariyaporn Boondeepathum, Director, And Friends Studio Co., Ltd., Bangkok

Irvine Prisilia, Assistant Director, TJT Creative Lab, Jakarta

Karin Nogami, Director, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Tokyo

Lisa Aoki, Director, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Tokyo

Nagi Tajima, Director, FIELD MANAGEMENT EXPAND Inc, Tokyo             

Ariyaporn Boondeepathum

Ariyaporn comes from Thailand, with a journey that didn’t begin in film school, nor behind a director’s chair. She started out as a creative copywriter at And Friends Studio, a boutique agency in Bangkok, discovering her love for scriptwriting and storytelling along the way. Still a newcomer to filmmaking, she believes that powerful films always begin with a strong message. When creating this short film, she had no prior experience in directing — only a clear vision of what she wanted to see on screen. She shares that first step, driven purely by passion and belief in the story.

Irvine Prisilia             

Irvine began her career as a copywriter, where writing scripts shaped the way she understands storytelling and rhythm. Co-founding TJT Creative Lab allowed her to move closer to filmmaking, working as a co-director and assistant director to help translate approved ideas from concept to execution on set. A longtime film enthusiast, she appreciates the complexity of the filmmaking process. For her, directing has become a natural extension of her creative journey, from conceiving ideas to bringing them to life on screen.

Karin Nogami

Karin Nogami is a creative working across film, visual storytelling, and concept-driven projects in Japan. With a background in idea development and narrative design, her work often explores emotional nuance, human relationships, and the subtle tensions that exist beneath everyday life.

Lisa Aoki

Lisa graduated from the Department of Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts and went on to complete her graduate studies at the same university. During her time as a student, she conducted art research while studying abroad in Istanbul, Turkey as an exchange student. At university, she created contemporary art, music, and musical instruments, and worked extensively on independent projects. Through these creative activities, she began receiving requests to direct music videos, which eventually led her into the advertising industry, and to Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, where she works as a director.

Nagi Tajima

Tajima Nagi graduated from Tama Art University, Department of Graphic Design in 2023 and joined experience design agency, Field Management Expand Inc., as a new graduate .She has already established herself as one of the agency’s film directors. She specialises in surreal, craft-like projects such as animation and puppetry and is fluent directing, animating and illustration.

All the Fabulous Five Films and two New Director Lotus winners will be accepted automatically into the Young Director Award (YDA), a non-profit award founded and managed by producers to discover and promote debuting international talent in film production since 1998.

YDA President, François Chilot, commented, “I can’t wait to discover the films of the new Fabulous Five winners. The Fabulous Five is an incredible initiative for spotlighting emerging voices from the Asia-Pacific region, and our partnership with ADFEST is very valuable to us. Inviting the Fabulous Five winners to YDA is one of the ways we bring new directors from across cultures onto an international stage and introduce them to our global jury.”

The films will also be automatically entered for consideration at the Academy Award® and BAFTA qualifying 2026 LA Shorts International Film Festival. Director and Founder of LA Shorts, Robert Arentz, commented, "LA Shorts International Film Festival has a rich history of championing new talent from across the globe, and our programming team is already looking forward to viewing the ADFEST Fabulous Five films for consideration. I am personally excited to attend ADFEST 2026 and meet the five directors. We believe great storytelling is a powerful force that transcends boundaries and unites us through shared human experience. We applaud ADFEST for fostering a vital platform where artists can create stories that inspire and impact us all. As one of the world's most prestigious and largest international short film festivals, and a qualifying festival for both the Academy Award® and BAFTA, we are thrilled to consider all five films for our milestone 30th anniversary in 2026."

Don’t miss the premiere of the Fabulous Five short films at ADFEST 2026 by this new wave of directorial talent, and discover the inspirations behind them.

ADFEST 2026, Human+, will be held Thursday 19 – Saturday 21 March 2026 at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.

A must for the ambitions of all industry professionals., ADFEST’s 3-day event brings together the industry’s top minds, rising stars and most innovative ideas. With star-studded speaker sessions, workshops, screenings and networking events, register now to join us at the region’s most celebrated creative festival.

ADFEST is open fo delegate registration. For more information on delegate packages and fees, click here.

ADFEST is a not-for profit entity that believes passionately in its role to nurture and support the creative industry in the Asia Pacific and MENA region. It is 1 of only 7 regional creative festivals included in the WARC Creative 100 Rankings, 1 of 12 awards included in the Campaign Brief Asia Rankings, and 1 of 22 awards included in The Drum World Creative Rankings.