The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) will welcome a major contingent of Asian actors, filmmakers and screen icons this October, led by Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, Chinese star Fan Bingbing and Japanese auteur Kore-eda Hirokazu.
Yeoh will return to Busan for the first time in 1 years to receive the festival’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. The Malaysian actor, who made history as the first Asian performer to win the Academy Award for best actress, will also appear in the gala presentation title It’s My Time, directed by Bai Xue. Yeoh plays a 70 year-old woman who embraces an unexpected new challenge.
Fan Bingbing will also be among the headline guests, joining fellow Chinese actors Shu Qi and Zhou Xun at the festival. In addition to her appearance, Fan will curate a Carte Blanche screening of Park Chan-wook’s acclaimed thriller The Handmaiden.
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Japanese filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu is set to attend with Look Back, his screen adaptation of Fujimoto Tatsuki’s manga. The film is among five gala presentation titles selected for this year’s edition, placing one of Japan’s most internationally celebrated contemporary directors at the centre of BIFF’s high-profile programme.
Asian cinema figures from across the region will feature prominently throughout the festival. Hong Kong director Ann Hui will receive the Camellia Award, while Indonesian actor and producer Christine Hakim is also expected to attend. Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, known for Children of Heaven, will make his first trip to Korea with competition title Midday Meal.
Other notable guests include Filipino director Lav Diaz, returning to Korea after a decade away; Japanese animation pioneer Rintaro; Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang; and Korean auteurs Lee Chang-dong, Na Hong-jin and Kim Jee-woon. Kim will be one of the festival’s three Carte Blanche curators.
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Japan is sending one of the largest delegations of stars, led by Nagasawa Masami. The group also includes Emoto Tasuku, Ishibashi Shizuka, Kuroki Haru, Yokohama Ryusei, Yamazaki Kento, Matsushita Kouhei, Sawajiri Erika, Maruyama Ryuhei and Nagayama Eita. Younger Asian and Asian diaspora talent attending includes Taiwanese K-pop star Yeh Shuhua, Michelle Mao, Jin Ha and Thai actor Davika Hoorne.
Asian Cinema Competition
BIFF’s main competition section will spotlight 14 films from across Asia, spanning Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Indonesia. The selection includes four directorial debuts and four films directed by women.
Majidi’s Midday Meal is among the headline titles, alongside Japanese director Kato Takuya’s The Day After Sunday, Chinese filmmaker Chen Jiwen’s Descendants, Gu You’s The First Taste of Loneliness, Hirose Nanako’s Between Two Lovers and Okita Shuichi’s Satoko Always.
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The programme also features Indonesian filmmakers Eddie Cahyono with Ibuku and Yosep Anggi Noen with The Sea Speaks His Name, as well as Korean directors Kim Jung-hoon with Shaving, Lim Hayeon with Beach Fictions and Youm Kyubock with Long Long Night. Taiwanese director Lee Yun Chan’s To Be Ordinary, Uzbek filmmaker Botir Abdurakhmanov’s Hilol, and Japanese director Tanaka Miki’s Silver Express complete the lineup.
The competition serves as the platform for BIFF’s New Currents Award, which honours outstanding first or second features from emerging Asian filmmakers.
Window on Asian Cinema
The Window on Asian Cinema section will add 28 titles from established and emerging voices across the region and its diaspora, including numerous international co-productions.
Highlights include Hong Kong-born director Wayne Wang’s Diary of a Mad Old Man; Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini’s Four Seasons in Java; Indian director Rima Das’ Not a Hero; and Japanese director Fujii Michihito’s You, Like a Star.
The programme spans filmmakers and productions connected to Thailand, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, reinforcing BIFF’s position as a key meeting point for Asian cinema.
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The festival’s Icons section will also include new work from Japanese director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Korean filmmakers Hong Sangsoo and Lee Chang-dong, Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang, and Kogonada’s U.S.-Hong Kong co-production Zi, which will have its international premiere in Busan.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs from Oct. 66 to 1515 at the Busan Cinema Center and venues across Busan. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market takes place from Oct. 10 to 1.
