Cinematic Legends
This year, Asian cinematic legends will be spotlighted with a selection of their latest films. Highlights include Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Serpent’s Path (2024) and Cloud; Jia Zhang-Ke's Caught by the Tides; Lav Diaz's Phantosmia; Wang Bing's Youth (Hard Times) and Youth (Homecoming), following his earlier work, Youth (Spring) (2023); Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig; Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Here Children Do Not Play Together; Rithy Panh’s Meeting with Pol Pot; and Brillante Mendoza’s Motherland. Alongside these Asian filmmakers, legendary European directors will have their works showcased. These include Bruno Dumont's The Empire, which won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival; Sean Baker's Anora, the Palme d'Or winner at Cannes; all eight features by Miguel Gomes, who won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival 2024; Jacques Audiard's Emilia Perez, a Cannes Jury Prize winner; Suspended Time by Olivier Assayas; Misericordia by Alain Guiraudie; and Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie by Kirill Serebrennikov. Also worth noting is Raoul Peck’s Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, a documentary by the master filmmaker who won the Golden Eye Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Short films such as Marco Bellocchio's May I Say? Chapter 2 and Leos Carax's It’s Not Me are also must-sees. Other highly anticipated films include The Room Next Door, featuring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, which is also Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's first English-language feature; and the political thriller documentary Lula, co-directed by Oliver Stone and Rob Wilson. These films are among the most eagerly awaited at the Busan International Film Festival this year.
Award-Winning Films from Major International Film Festivals
A significant number of award-winning films from major international film festivals are set to be showcased in Busan. Noteworthy films from Sundance Film Festival include: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, which swept the Documentary Directing Award and Audience Award; Girls Will Be Girls, the recipient of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award; and Kneecap, winner of the NEXT Award. Invited selection that triumphed at Berlin International Film Festival include: the Palestinian documentary No Other Land which won the Documentary Award, Memories of a Burning Body which won the Panorama Audience Award, and the Iranian film My Favorite Cake winner of the Ecumenical Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize.
Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light made history as the first film by a female Indian director to compete at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became a sensation by winning the Jury Prize. Other key Cannes Film Festival’s winners to be featured at BIFF include: The Substance, starring Demi Moore, which won Best Screenplay Award; Guan Hu's Black Dog, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize; The Damned and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, both of which received the Best Director Award at Un Certain Regard; Boris Lojkine's Souleymane’s Story, which won both the Jury’s Prize and Best Actor; Shameless, the Best Actress award; Armand, which won the Golden Camera Award; Mongrel, which received a special mention for the Golden Camera; Yamanaka Yoko's Desert of Namibia, which was invited to the Directors' Fortnight and won the FIPRESCI Prize; and Blue Sun Palace, which was honored with the French Touch Prize of the Jury at the Critics' Week.
Furthermore, Drowning Dry, the winner of the Best Director at the Locarno International Film Festival, and Nelicia Low’s Pierce, which won the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, will make their way to Busan this year.
Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light made history as the first film by a female Indian director to compete at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became a sensation by winning the Jury Prize. Other key Cannes Film Festival’s winners to be featured at BIFF include: The Substance, starring Demi Moore, which won Best Screenplay Award; Guan Hu's Black Dog, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize; The Damned and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, both of which received the Best Director Award at Un Certain Regard; Boris Lojkine's Souleymane’s Story, which won both the Jury’s Prize and Best Actor; Shameless, the Best Actress award; Armand, which won the Golden Camera Award; Mongrel, which received a special mention for the Golden Camera; Yamanaka Yoko's Desert of Namibia, which was invited to the Directors' Fortnight and won the FIPRESCI Prize; and Blue Sun Palace, which was honored with the French Touch Prize of the Jury at the Critics' Week.
Furthermore, Drowning Dry, the winner of the Best Director at the Locarno International Film Festival, and Nelicia Low’s Pierce, which won the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, will make their way to Busan this year.
Festival Favorites
In addition to the award-winning films, several Asian film that garnered attention at major film festivals are also being featured. These include: the Sundance International Film Festival hit Black Box Diaries (2024), which depicts the MeToo movement of a Japanese journalist; the Iranian documentary My Stolen Planet, invited to the Panorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival; and the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival hit XiXi (2024). At the Cannes Film Festival, the Indian film Santosh, the Vietnamese film Viet and Nam, and the Japanese film My Sunshine were invited to the Un Certain Regard section. In the Directors' Fortnight, the animated film Ghost Cat Anzu was invited, while In Retreat was invited to the ACID section.
Moreover, many films have been invited to Venice International Film Festival 2024. Deepak Rauniyar’s Pooja, Sir and Sora Neo’s Happyend are in the Orizzonti Competition, and Nader Saeivar’s new film The Witness - which was invited to the BIFF’s New Currents section two years ago – has been invited to the Orizzonti Extra section. In addition, Don’t Cry, Butterly directed by Dieu Linh Duong, a 2016 BAFA graduate, was selected for the Critics’ Week. Igarashi Kohei’s Super Happy Forever and Jiang Xiaoxuan’s To Kill a Mongolian Horse have both been selected for Venice Days section. The Colors Within, the animation by Yamada Naoko is another notable work which selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s competition section.
Various non-Asian films will also feature, including Visiting Hours, a feature directed by Patricia Mazuy and starring Isabelle Huppert that was introduced at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival, and Universal Language directed by Matthew Rankin, among others. Also worthy of note are: Wild Diamond, first feature of female director Agathe Riedinger that was in competition at Cannes Film Festival; The Girl with the Needle, which caused a stir among the competition section for its shocking subject matter; Ghost Trail which opened the Critics’ Week; and When the Light Breaks, which opened the Un Certain Regard section. The Zellner brothers’ Sasquatch Sunset, a hot topic at the Sundance Film Festival, actor Jesse Eisenberg’s second directorial effort A Real Pain, and Ghostlight which touched the hearts of many audiences, have also been invited.
There are also a number of hot new films that are set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival: Three Friends, by romantic master Emmanuel Mouret, the Boukherma Brothers’ And Their Children After Them, Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April, Luis Ortega's Kill the Jockey, Athina Rachel Tsangari's Harvest, and Dag Johan Haugerud's Love are all expected to heat up at theaters around Busan.
Moreover, many films have been invited to Venice International Film Festival 2024. Deepak Rauniyar’s Pooja, Sir and Sora Neo’s Happyend are in the Orizzonti Competition, and Nader Saeivar’s new film The Witness - which was invited to the BIFF’s New Currents section two years ago – has been invited to the Orizzonti Extra section. In addition, Don’t Cry, Butterly directed by Dieu Linh Duong, a 2016 BAFA graduate, was selected for the Critics’ Week. Igarashi Kohei’s Super Happy Forever and Jiang Xiaoxuan’s To Kill a Mongolian Horse have both been selected for Venice Days section. The Colors Within, the animation by Yamada Naoko is another notable work which selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s competition section.
Various non-Asian films will also feature, including Visiting Hours, a feature directed by Patricia Mazuy and starring Isabelle Huppert that was introduced at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival, and Universal Language directed by Matthew Rankin, among others. Also worthy of note are: Wild Diamond, first feature of female director Agathe Riedinger that was in competition at Cannes Film Festival; The Girl with the Needle, which caused a stir among the competition section for its shocking subject matter; Ghost Trail which opened the Critics’ Week; and When the Light Breaks, which opened the Un Certain Regard section. The Zellner brothers’ Sasquatch Sunset, a hot topic at the Sundance Film Festival, actor Jesse Eisenberg’s second directorial effort A Real Pain, and Ghostlight which touched the hearts of many audiences, have also been invited.
There are also a number of hot new films that are set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival: Three Friends, by romantic master Emmanuel Mouret, the Boukherma Brothers’ And Their Children After Them, Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April, Luis Ortega's Kill the Jockey, Athina Rachel Tsangari's Harvest, and Dag Johan Haugerud's Love are all expected to heat up at theaters around Busan.
Buzzing Movies
The highly anticipated movie adaptation of the TV series Solitary Gourmet (2012 – present) will have its premiere in Busan. The Solitary Gourmet is a work completed with the main actor, Matsushige Yutaka, also taking on the role of director. The film will be screened at the outdoor theater of the Busan Cinema Center. Another notable work is the short animation Magic Candies, an adaptation of the 2017 picture book by the internationally renowned picture book author Baek Heena, produced with the technical expertise of Toei Animation. Additionally, Civil War, which broke box office records for the influential American production company A24, will be presented in an outdoor screening at Open Cinema. This year’s French box office hit, the action thriller Night Call, will also meet audiences at Midnight Passion. In addition, the American documentary The Last of the Sea Women by Korean American director Sue Kim, which addresses environmental issues through the lens of Korea's haenyeo female divers, is expected to generate significant interest.
The post-apocalyptic musical The End, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, who has gained a dedicated fan base in Korea with his documentaries The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014), will also be featured. Another highlight is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, a jazz political documentary by Johan Grimonprez, which has swept major awards at numerous international film festivals following its win at the Sundance Film Festival. Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won four awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, will also be showcased in Busan. One of the hottest films in India during the first half of 2024, Kalki 2898 AD, will be screened at the outdoor theater. This intense sci-fi action hero movie features some of India's top actors, including Prabhas from Baahubali (2015), Kamal Haasan from Vikram (2022), and Deepika Padukone from Om Shanti Om (2007), heightening the excitement around its release. RM: Right People, Wrong Place, which documents BTS leader RM’s process of creating his first solo album, and where RM shares his more personal side during the eight months leading up to his military enlistment, awaits the audience outdoors.
The post-apocalyptic musical The End, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, who has gained a dedicated fan base in Korea with his documentaries The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014), will also be featured. Another highlight is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, a jazz political documentary by Johan Grimonprez, which has swept major awards at numerous international film festivals following its win at the Sundance Film Festival. Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won four awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, will also be showcased in Busan. One of the hottest films in India during the first half of 2024, Kalki 2898 AD, will be screened at the outdoor theater. This intense sci-fi action hero movie features some of India's top actors, including Prabhas from Baahubali (2015), Kamal Haasan from Vikram (2022), and Deepika Padukone from Om Shanti Om (2007), heightening the excitement around its release. RM: Right People, Wrong Place, which documents BTS leader RM’s process of creating his first solo album, and where RM shares his more personal side during the eight months leading up to his military enlistment, awaits the audience outdoors.
Korean Cinema
There are two main characteristics of Korean films at the Busan International Film Festival 2024. First, the festival has become a key platform for the world premieres of second or third films from talented emerging directors who have previously made their mark at BIFF. Director Lee Ran-hee, director of A Leave (2020), which has been screened as a part of New Currents section and was nominated as the Independent Film of the Year by Association of Korean Independent Film and Video (KIFV), has directed her second feature The Final Semester, which will have its world premiere at BIFF 2024. Park Songyeol will also return to Busan with Kike Will Hit a Home Run, after his successful feature Hot in Day, Cold at Night (2021), which has been screened at the Busan International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. Park Ri-woong has proved his potential following his debut feature The Girl on a Bulldozer (2022), with his second feature The Land of Morning Calm, which will be presented at BIFF. The KB New Currents Audience Award winner for Heritage (2023) Lee Jong-su is coming back to the Busan International Film Festival with Inserts. Moreover, other talented Korean independent filmmakers, such as Lee Haram, Lee Jeahan, Jo Heeyoung, and more, who were previously featured in the New Currents and Korean Cinema Today – Vision sections, are returning to Busan. These filmmakers continue to revisit the festival as a foundation to explore and refine their visions.
Secondly, the Busan International Film Festival has expanded the premiere screening of Korean mainstream commercial films. The festival will open with the period film Uprising to its world premiere, which has drawn attention for Park Chan-wook as producer and scriptwriter along with a star-studded cast including Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rock, Jin Sun-kyu, and Jung Sung-il. The Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section showcases a carefully curated selection of Korean commercial films, and this year, it has reached a milestone with a record high of five features, highlighting significant growth. The section includes Bogota: City of the Lost starring the leading actor Song Joong-ki, followed by supporting actors Lee Hee-jun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Park Ji-hwan, and Cho Hyun-chul; Hear Me: Our Summer, a love story starring rising actors Hong Kyung and Roh Yoon-seo; A Normal Family directed by Hur Jin-ho, starring Sul Kyung-gu, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Hee-ae, and Claudia Kim; DIRTY MONEY, a heavy and powerful detective noir film starring Jung Woo, Kim Dae-myung, and Park Byeong-eun; and, A Girl with Closed Eyes, an intense thriller starring the Pachinko (2022) star Kim Minha. In addition to the Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section, Korean Cinema Today – Panorama will also feature several premiere screenings including Somebody, Method Acting, You Are the Apple of My Eye, and The Killers. Director Tak Se-woong will introduce his new film Ghost Train as a world premiere in the Midnight Passion section.
For the works introduced in the Wide Angle Section, there seem to be new changes in the Korean Documentaries. The most prominent aspect this year is that there is an introduction to fresh and adventurous works of newly introduced directors. In this section, revolutionary works by new-coming documentarists with their first feature films will be introduced. The features include director Jo Seyoung’s K-Number, which breaks into the heart-throbbing truth about overseas adoption; director Park Minsoo and Ahn Kearn-hyung’s Works and Days, which contains the inner voice about everyday laborers; director Ryu Hyung-seok’s The First Responders that closely observed firefighters of Yangsan; director Sohn Koo-yong’s At the Park that offers an original view and poetic perspective about space and nature; and director Lee So-jeong’s Every Single Dot which will introduce a unique cinematic adventure.
Additionally, the Wide Angle – Documentary Showcase section will be introducing diverse, original subjects that attract the audience. Director Hwang Da-eun and Park Hong-yeol collaborated with artists during COVID-19 and showcased virtual exhibitions, Landscape Drifting. Director Sung Seungtaek’s Mother's Household Ledger reconstructs Korea’s Modern history through a mother’s 50 year old household ledger, director Park Yunjin’s SAVE THE GAME covers the stories of Korean game developers followed by her previous piece People in Elancia (2017) which dealt with the world of RPG games, director Kim Mooyoung’s The Sense of Violence that studied what effects of the anti-communist policy during the 1960s and 1970s in Korea had towards the replication of images for film, photography, and architecture. These original subjects will widen the spectrum of Korean documentaries.
Secondly, the Busan International Film Festival has expanded the premiere screening of Korean mainstream commercial films. The festival will open with the period film Uprising to its world premiere, which has drawn attention for Park Chan-wook as producer and scriptwriter along with a star-studded cast including Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rock, Jin Sun-kyu, and Jung Sung-il. The Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section showcases a carefully curated selection of Korean commercial films, and this year, it has reached a milestone with a record high of five features, highlighting significant growth. The section includes Bogota: City of the Lost starring the leading actor Song Joong-ki, followed by supporting actors Lee Hee-jun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Park Ji-hwan, and Cho Hyun-chul; Hear Me: Our Summer, a love story starring rising actors Hong Kyung and Roh Yoon-seo; A Normal Family directed by Hur Jin-ho, starring Sul Kyung-gu, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Hee-ae, and Claudia Kim; DIRTY MONEY, a heavy and powerful detective noir film starring Jung Woo, Kim Dae-myung, and Park Byeong-eun; and, A Girl with Closed Eyes, an intense thriller starring the Pachinko (2022) star Kim Minha. In addition to the Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere section, Korean Cinema Today – Panorama will also feature several premiere screenings including Somebody, Method Acting, You Are the Apple of My Eye, and The Killers. Director Tak Se-woong will introduce his new film Ghost Train as a world premiere in the Midnight Passion section.
For the works introduced in the Wide Angle Section, there seem to be new changes in the Korean Documentaries. The most prominent aspect this year is that there is an introduction to fresh and adventurous works of newly introduced directors. In this section, revolutionary works by new-coming documentarists with their first feature films will be introduced. The features include director Jo Seyoung’s K-Number, which breaks into the heart-throbbing truth about overseas adoption; director Park Minsoo and Ahn Kearn-hyung’s Works and Days, which contains the inner voice about everyday laborers; director Ryu Hyung-seok’s The First Responders that closely observed firefighters of Yangsan; director Sohn Koo-yong’s At the Park that offers an original view and poetic perspective about space and nature; and director Lee So-jeong’s Every Single Dot which will introduce a unique cinematic adventure.
Additionally, the Wide Angle – Documentary Showcase section will be introducing diverse, original subjects that attract the audience. Director Hwang Da-eun and Park Hong-yeol collaborated with artists during COVID-19 and showcased virtual exhibitions, Landscape Drifting. Director Sung Seungtaek’s Mother's Household Ledger reconstructs Korea’s Modern history through a mother’s 50 year old household ledger, director Park Yunjin’s SAVE THE GAME covers the stories of Korean game developers followed by her previous piece People in Elancia (2017) which dealt with the world of RPG games, director Kim Mooyoung’s The Sense of Violence that studied what effects of the anti-communist policy during the 1960s and 1970s in Korea had towards the replication of images for film, photography, and architecture. These original subjects will widen the spectrum of Korean documentaries.
