The Busan International Film Festival announced its historic transformation from a non-competitive to competitive format during a press conference, marking a significant milestone for the prestigious Asian cinema event. After 29 years as a non-competitive festival, BIFF will introduce its inaugural competition section featuring 14 Asian films competing for five awards, including best film, best director, and special jury prize.
The competition lineup showcases remarkable diversity, with ten world premieres, five films from debut directors, and six works by women filmmakers. Notable entries include Chinese director Bi Gan's "Resurrection," which previously won the special jury prize at Cannes, and Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-Ching's "Left-Handed Girl," produced by recent Palme d'Or winner Sean Baker, who will attend the festival.
Korean representation includes director Lim Sun-ae's world premiere "Seven O'Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted," starring popular actors Suzy and Lee Jin-wook. Japan contributes "Two Seasons, Two Strangers," a Locarno top prize winner featuring Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung in the lead role. These selections demonstrate the festival's commitment to showcasing both established and emerging talent across Asia.
Festival chair Park Gwang-su acknowledged the challenges of launching the competition section during the press conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters. "We don't expect it to be perfect from the first try," he admitted. "But we've done our best to prepare, and we'll keep refining it as time goes on." This candid approach reflects the festival's commitment to continuous improvement.
Festival director Jung Han-seok directly addressed the Korean film industry's current difficulties while maintaining optimism about the event. "We know that the film industry's in deep trouble," he stated frankly. "But we want this to be a proper festival nonetheless." Despite these challenges, Jung described this year's guest lineup as "monumental, unprecedented" in the festival's three-decade history.
The impressive roster of international guests validates Jung's assessment. Italian cinema legend Marco Bellocchio will make his first Asian festival appearance as part of a special retrospective program. French actress Juliette Binoche returns to Busan after a 15-year absence for her own tribute section. Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro brings his latest work "Frankenstein," while acclaimed director Michael Mann will attend with a special screening.
The Korean contingent features an equally stellar lineup of the country's most celebrated filmmakers. Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" will serve as the festival's opening film, while household names including Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong will also participate. "I never imagined they'd all come to one place," Jung marveled. "We've had famous stars and directors visit Busan before, but this year's lineup might be the greatest we've ever seen."
Significant program expansion includes the Vision section, which now encompasses filmmakers across Asia rather than focusing exclusively on Korean independent cinema. The section splits into Vision Korea and Vision Asia categories, with approximately 12 films in each division. This change reflects the festival's growing international scope and commitment to regional cinema development.
The Asia Contents Film Market celebrates its 20th anniversary with substantial expansion and innovation. Section head Kim Young-deok introduced InnoAsia, a groundbreaking platform that combines artificial intelligence technology with content creation. Major participants include tech giants Google and Amazon Web Services, alongside Asian companies such as China's Kling and TikTok.
"Korean creators can now directly interact with global big tech companies, Asian enterprises and policy institutions," Kim explained, highlighting the platform's networking potential. The market also launches DocsSquare for documentary co-productions and expands its Producer Hub, which connects national film organizations with producer networks worldwide.
The ongoing debate over streaming platforms' presence in film festivals emerged during discussions about this year's lineup. The festival faced criticism last year for selecting Netflix's "Uprising" as its opening film. This year, two of the four Gala presentations—del Toro's "Frankenstein" and Byun Sung-hyun's "Good News"—come from Netflix.
Kim addressed these concerns by emphasizing the global reach of streaming platforms. "We're seeing how K-content reaches global audiences all at once through these platforms," he observed. "The film industry was actually late to benefit from this wave. While tourism and food exports have profited from the K-content boom, we're still looking for ways to capture that financial support for cinema."
Practical improvements for attendees include the introduction of childcare services for children aged 3 to 8, responding to complaints from last year when invited guests with children couldn't bring them into screenings. Additional screening venues beyond the Busan Cinema Center will accommodate the expanded program of 241 official selections, up from 224 last year. Including Community BIFF events, the total reaches 328 films.
The festival introduces ceremonial changes as well. Actor Lee Byung-hun will host the opening ceremony solo, breaking from the traditional male-female duo format. The closing ceremony will feature added suspense, with award winners remaining secret until the actual moment of presentation rather than being announced in advance.
The 30th Busan International Film Festival will run from September 17-26 across multiple venues throughout Busan, promising to deliver a landmark edition that balances respect for cinema tradition with bold steps toward the future of film festivals in the digital age.
