Busan International Film Festival to set sail for the sea of films next month with 246 titles, opening on a Tuesday one day earlier than usual [Star Scene] [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The 31st Busan International Film Festival will set sail with filmmakers from around the world next month on October 6.

A press conference for the 31st Busan International Film Festival was held in the afternoon of the 1st at the International Conference Room of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. Park Kwang-soo Lee (President), Executive Director Jeong Han-seok, Deputy Executive Director Park Ga-eun, and Kim Young-deok Ma Ket-wi (Director) attended the press conference to share an overview of this year's film festival.

This year's official selections include 246 films from 59 countries, comprising 95 world premieres. In total, there are 105 films featuring world or international premieres. The total number of screenings is 315 films.

The Busan International Film Festival has been officially designated as an "A-list film festival" this year, recognizing its international stature alongside major global festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. Since last year, when the competition section was newly established, the winner of the top prize in the competition category, the "Busan Award - Grand Prize," will be eligible for submission to the Academy Awards' International Feature Film category. The film festivals recognized by the Academy as eligible for the International Feature Film award include Busan, Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, and Toronto.

The Busan International Film Festival, which traditionally opened on Wednesdays, will now open one day earlier on Tuesdays starting this year. Executive Director Jeong Han-seok explained, "Moving the opening day of the ten-day film festival from Wednesday to Tuesday was a significant decision. We recognized that visitors come to enjoy the festival from its opening through the weekend, so we decided to shift it accordingly."

The 14 films selected for this year's newly established competition section were produced in countries including South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia. Among them, four are debut works by new directors, and four were directed by women. The lineup includes "Taizhou on That Day" directed by Im Ha-yeon, "Between Two Lovers" directed by Nanako Hirose, "The Day After Sunday" directed by Takuya Gato, "Descendant" directed by Cheon Ji-won, "Loneliness We Met for the First Time" directed by Gu Yu, "Hilrol" directed by Botir Abdurakhmanov, the animated film "Long Long Night" directed by Yeom Gyu-bok, "Bread and Books" directed by Majid Majidi, "My Mother" directed by Eddie Cahyono, "Satoko is Always" directed by Shuichi Okita, "Names Carved in the Sea" directed by Joseph Angi Noen, "Shaving" directed by Kim Jeong-hoon, "Silver Express" directed by Miki Tanaka, and "For the Sake of Being Ordinary" directed by Li Yunchan.

World-renowned filmmakers are coming to Busan. Actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal will visit Korea, and Yang Ja-kyung, the first Asian actress to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, will come to Busan to receive this year's "Asian Filmmaker of the Year" award. French actress Isabelle Huppert is also among those visiting Busan.

Stars representing various countries in Asia are also flocking to Busan. In addition to director and actor Seo Ki, Chinese actors Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing, Japanese stars Nagasawa Masami, Emoto Tasuku, Kuroki Haru, Yokohama Ryusei, Yamazaki Kento, Matsushita Kohei, Sawajiri Erika, Maruyama Ryuhei, and Nagayama Eita will meet with Busan audiences.

Meanwhile, the 31st Busan International Film Festival will be held for ten days from October 6 to October 15 at the Busan Cinema Center in U-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original