Stories From The Busan Film Festival, Attended By Thousands Of Viewers Near Normal Conditions

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)

JAKARTA - The 26th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened on Wednesday, October 6 yesterday. Asia's largest film festival is held over 10 days with an opening ceremony attended by 1,200 spectators at the open-air theater Busan Cinema Center located in the southern port city of Busan.

Under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, this festival was held under almost completely normal conditions or focused more on live events. The show is hosted by South Korean actors Song Joong-ki and Park So-dam.

Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Korean actors Yoo Ah-in, Doh Kyung-soo and Jeon Yeo-been are among those who have made the long-distance trip to the city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

“This year, BIFF finally hosted the film festival opening ceremony, thanks to our joint efforts to adhere to COVID-19 health protocols. I hope BIFF will help us one step closer to our normal lives," said Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon at the opening of the annual festival, quoted by ANTARA.

The holding of the BIFF is almost back to normal. All visitors and participants are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result upon arrival.

This year, all invited feature films will be shown two to three times each in six theaters, while some short films will be screened online. Each film screening session in theaters will run with a maximum capacity of 50 percent.

Festival authorities said they would take all necessary measures to provide a safe environment under the COVID-19 control guidelines in Busan.

The film "Heaven: To the Land of Happiness" by director Im Sang-soo was the first film to be screened at this year's BIFF which was attended by around 220 guests from 70 countries.

Starring veteran actors Choi Min-sik and Park Hae-il, the film “Heaven” highlights the story of two male fugitives. The film entered the official selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival but premiered at BIFF as the Cannes Festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the biopic of Hong Kong singer and actress Anita Mui “Anita” by director Leung Longman will be the closing film for the festival.

Three films will be shown at the prestigious Gala Presentation, namely the work by Leos Carax which was the opening film for this year's Cannes Festival "Annette" and two works by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, namely "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. at the Berlin Film Festival and “Drive My Car” which was awarded the best screenplay at Cannes.

In this year's “New Currents” competition section, 11 films from 10 countries, including “The Absent Director” by Arvand Dashtaray from Iran, “Photocopier” by Wregas Bhanuteja from Indonesia, and “Farewell, My Hometown” by Wang Er Zhuo from China , will compete for the award.

The two Netflix series “Hellbound” and “My Name” as well as the HBO Asia original series “Forbidden” will premiere in the “On Screen” section. The session is designed to broadcast a new drama series that will be released online on streaming platforms.