Film Discovered in Busan, Heading to the Academy… Zhang Yimou: "A Film Festival the World Is Watching" [31st BIFF] [Comprehensive Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

The jury members for the competitive section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival gathered together.

A press conference for the competitive section jury of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held on the 7th at the Cinema Hall in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Director Zhang Yimou Shim Sa-wi (Director), Director Bi Gan, Actress Samal Yeslamova, Director Ishikawa Kei, Director Jeong Ju-ri, Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Big Ngoc, and Actress Choi Hee-seo attended the event.

The Busan International Film Festival, which introduced its competitive section for the first time last year, appointed Director Zhang Yimou as Shim Sa-wi (Director) this year. Director Zhang Yimou is a Chinese master who has won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival, and the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, among other prestigious global film festivals Joo Yo-sang-eul (수상).

Director Zhang Yimou said, "I am happy to visit the Busan International Film Festival again after 13 years," adding, "The Busan International Film Festival has already established itself as a major festival representing Asia, and I believe its importance will only grow in the future."

He continued, "Its international influence continues to expand, and with the rising status of Asian cinema, it is drawing global attention," stating, "I hope that film festivals in Asia, including the Busan International Film Festival, will develop further so that audiences around the world can encounter more excellent films."

The seven jury members, including Director Zhang Yimou, will review 13 works selected for this year's competitive section.

'That Day's Taeju' (Lim Ha-yeon · South Korea), 'Between Two Lovers' (Hirosue Nanako · Japan), 'The Day After Sunday' (Kato Takuya · Japan), 'First Met Loneliness' (Gou Yu · China), 'Hill Roll' (Botir Abdurakhmanov · Uzbekistan), 'Long Long Night' (Yeom Gyu-bok · South Korea), 'Bread and Books' (Majid Majidi · Iran), 'My Mother' (Edi Cha Hyo-no · Indonesia · Japan), 'Satoko Is Always' (Okita Shuichi · Japan), 'Name Carved in the Sea' (Yosep Anggi Noen · Indonesia), 'Shaving' (Kim Jung-hun · South Korea), 'Silver Express' (Tanaka Miki · Japan), and 'In Order to Be Ordinary' (Li Wen-chang · Taiwan) were named for the competitive section.

The jury includes Director Bi Gan, who received the Artistic Contribution Award in the competitive section of last year's Busan International Film Festival, Actress Samal Yeslamova, a Woo Ju-yeon-sang (수상) at the Cannes Film Festival, and Director Ishikawa Kei, who directed films such as "A Man."

Regarding the judging criteria, Director Bi Gan said, "Good films are diverse, but bad films can be felt intuitively. It is often difficult to explain in a single sentence why a good film is good."

He added, "In this review, I tried to pay attention to films that go beyond my personal experience and familiar standards," stating, "I believe that works selected for the competitive section should boldly and unreservedly show their own expression while also connecting with the emotions of the audience. I focused on those aspects during the review."

The winner of the 'Busan Award – Grand Prize,' the top prize in the competitive section, will qualify for submission to the International Feature Film category at the U.S. Academy Awards, opening another path for Asian films discovered in Busan to advance onto the global stage.

He emphasized, "It goes to the Academy Awards. I believe that the new competitive section established by BIFF can play a role in introducing [films] to the world."

Joining them were Director Jeong Ju-ri, who directed "Doheeya," "Next Sohee," and "Dora"; Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Big Ngoc; and Choi Hee-seo, an actress expanding her activities as a director and producer.

Regarding the status of the Busan International Film Festival, Director Jeong Ju-ri said, "I think the Busan International Film Festival has already become a world-class film festival," adding, "It holds such an important position that when I meet film professionals at other overseas festivals, Busan is often the first topic to come up."

She added, "While it is already sufficiently a world-class festival, it seems like a time when one is actually curious about what direction it will develop and progress in next."

Regarding her impressions of participating as a jury member, Choi Hee-seo said, "I participated with the mindset of gaining great learning from this occasion, even if it meant taking on some burden," stating, "I will strive to conduct a good review by actively engaging in deep conversations with a sense of responsibility."

On what constitutes a good film, she said, "I think a film begins the moment you leave your seat," adding, "A work that allows me to reflect on myself through the questions it poses is a good film."

She continued, "'Possible Love' made me think about this even more deeply," explaining, "I believe a good film is one that makes me look back at what kind of person I am after watching it and instills in me the desire to become a better person."

This year's competitive section 'Busan Award' will be presented in five categories: Grand Prize, Director Award, Jury Special Prize, Actor Award, and Artistic Contribution Award. The total prize money is 1.1 billion won.

Meanwhile, the 31st Busan International Film Festival opened on the 6th and will run until the 15th in the area around the Cinema Hall in Busan.

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*This content was translated by AI.