[Official] Amid Controversy, 'The Assassins' Stage Greeting at BIFF Proceeds as Scheduled: "No Changes at This Time"

*This content was translated by AI.

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the film "The Assassins," the outdoor stage greeting at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is expected to proceed as scheduled.

On the 2nd, BIFF officials told StarNews regarding the outdoor stage greeting for "The Assassins" scheduled for the 7th, "There are no changes at this time."

They added, "Schedules can change even within a day, but if any changes occur, we plan to notify immediately."

The official BIFF schedule also lists the outdoor stage greeting for "The Assassins" as taking place at 1 p.m. on the 7th at the Loop Theater of the Cinema Center. Director Heo Jin-ho and actors Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho are scheduled to attend the event.

"The Assassins" is a film that traces the suspicions and masterminds behind an incident, using the 1974 assassination of Lady Yuh Young-sook as its motif. Since its release on the 23rd of last month, controversy has continued as political circles and related organizations have raised criticism of historical distortion over certain settings in the film.

While some conservative groups announced plans for collective action related to the film, leading to speculation that the BIFF outdoor stage greeting might be canceled, it was reported that no separate cancellation discussions or schedule changes have been made by the festival side so far.

However, the "Actors House: Lee Min-ho" event, which was previously scheduled for the same day, has been canceled.

BIFF officials stated on the 1st, "The 'Actors House: Lee Min-ho' event has been canceled due to unavoidable circumstances," adding, "Reserved tickets will be automatically canceled and refunded in bulk without a separate refund application or fees, and individual notification messages are expected to be sent regarding this."

Meanwhile, the production team of "The Assassins" issued an official statement on the 28th of last month, stating that the work is "not a film produced to newly establish a specific historical conclusion or to deny or distort existing facts."

The production team explained that it is a feature film reconstructed by adding cinematic imagination based on published records and materials, and that it does not designate a specific person as the mastermind of the incident nor present hypotheses in the film as historical facts. They also emphasized that while they respect various interpretations and criticisms, "it is not a film produced with a specific political purpose or intent."

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*This content was translated by AI.