Busan Film Festival Confirms Pivot to Competitive Format for Landmark 30th Edition

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For the celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has decided on a significant shift in its strategic approach. This change involves moving from a non-competitive exhibition style to a competitive format, with the aim of solidifying BIFF’s status as a dominant force within the Asian film industry.

The 14 Asian films competing for five major awards in BIFF’s latest competitive section will be shown from September 17-26. The awards up for grabs include the grand prize, best director, special jury prize, best actor/actress, and artistic contribution. Interestingly, this year, the winner of the grand prize will be screened as the festival’s closing film instead of being a separate selection.

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From September 17-26, BIFF’s new competitive category will showcase 14 Asian films in contention for five distinguished accolades: the grand prize, best director, special jury prize, best actor/actress, and artistic contribution. Notably, the movie that wins the grand prize will serve as the closing film of the festival, deviating from the usual tradition where a different film is chosen for this slot.

During a press conference held both in Busan and online on Tuesday, Park Kwang-su, head of the organizing committee, announced that since the 29th festival was completed last year, we had stated that the upcoming 30th event would shift from its non-competitive to a competitive format.

This significant anniversary serves as an important moment for reflection, as outlined by Park, on our collective growth journey with Asian cinema over the past three decades. It also provides us with an opportunity to share our vision for the next thirty years.

Park stated that our goal is to showcase and promote the greatness and variety of Asian films more aggressively, with the aim of boosting their prestige within the international film community.

Renowned Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul has been chosen to create the designs for the awards, which includes a fresh Busan Award meant to honor exceptional Asian cinema.

The transformation of the festival has also reached its leadership group. On March 21, Jung Han-seok commenced his role as the new festival director. At a recent press conference, he shared their intentions to arrange multiple programs and discussions aimed at identifying issues plaguing Korean films and collaboratively finding workable solutions. Moreover, he emphasized that the festival would put great emphasis on engaging audiences by securing popular works and inviting notable figures.

In the programming department, there’s been a leadership transition as Karen Park takes over as program director, replacing Nam Dong-chul who left for personal matters.

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that the esteemed filmmaker Min Kyu-dong, known for his masterpiece “Memento Mori”, will be at the helm for both the opening and closing ceremonies of this milestone event. His involvement promises a more vibrant and engaging presentation, making this edition truly unforgettable.

Changes in the organization will impact the current program segments within BIFF. Previously autonomous sections like New Currents and Jiseok, which served as award platforms, are now being combined with the competition section. On the other hand, the Korean Cinema Today Vision strand is growing into two distinct parts: Vision-Asia and Vision-Korea.

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2025-04-29 20:46