Cannes-winning Jafar Panahi defies all boundaries at Busan International Film Festival

BUSAN — "I consider myself a social filmmaker." Jafar Panahi laid that down straight Thursday morning, speaking at a press conference held at the Busan Cinema Center. Just hours earlier, France had announced its selection of Panahi's Palme d'Or winner "It Was Just an Accident" as the country's Oscar submission. In Busan, he's here for his Asian filmmaker of the year award, a gala screening of "It Was Just an Accident," plus a retrospective threading through his three decades of defiant filmmakin

Sept. 18, 2025

BIFF competition jury pledges impartial assessment as festival enters new era

BUSAN — The seven-member jury for the Busan International Film Festival's inaugural competition expressed both the weight of responsibility and excitement at the jury press conference Thursday at the Busan Cinema Center. Jury President Na Hong-jin set a candid tone from the start. "Honestly, the pressure is immense -- I really didn't want to do this," the director of "The Chaser" and "The Wailing" said with humor. "Yesterday at the opening ceremony, I nearly had a panic attack. The festival has

Sept. 18, 2025

Busan International Film Festival opens 30th edition with star-studded ceremony

BUSAN — The 30th Busan International Film Festival opened Wednesday evening at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, launching its 10-day program of 328 films that will screen across seven theaters. This year marks a historic transformation for Asia's premier film event, as it introduces its first competition section after 29 years as a noncompetitive event. Fourteen Asian films will compete for five awards totaling 110 million won ($80,000), with 10 world premieres among the selections. The r

Sept. 17, 2025

Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice' opens Busan film fest with calculated anarchy

BUSAN -- "The personal and the social — they're completely intertwined, pointing both outward and inward," Park Chan-wook offered Wednesday afternoon, attempting to articulate the dialectical tension animating his new film. The director was addressing reporters at Busan Cinema Center, where a press-only screening of "No Other Choice" had just unofficially launched the 30th Busan International Film Festival ahead of that evening's opening ceremony. Fresh off its world premiere in Venice and a sto

Sept. 17, 2025

30 years of drama: How BIFF became Asia's most prestigious film fest

In September 1996, German film programmer Erika Gregor let out a shriek in a darkened theater. A rat had just bitten her foot. For weeks later, filmgoers in Busan watched movies to the soundtrack of meowing — legend has it that the organizers had released cats to hunt down the rats. That this scrappy latecomer would become Asia's premier film event seemed about as likely as Korea winning an Oscar. Both would become reality. Two years before the rodent incident, a handful of film professionals an

Sept. 16, 2025

Greta Lee becomes grid runner

At Monday's press event in Seoul for "Tron: Ares," Greta Lee couldn't hide her amazement at launching the global press tour in Korea. "I can't believe I'm here promoting a movie like this," the Korean American actor told reporters at CGV Yongsan, still processing her rise from indie darling to franchise star. "For a Hollywood movie to have a Korean protagonist for the first time, possibly, it's unbelievable." After decades of memorable supporting roles and scene-stealing turns in everything from

Sept. 15, 2025

Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice' wins International People's Choice Award at Toronto

South Korean director Park Chan-wook's satirical thriller "No Other Choice" won the International People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, festival organizers announced. The newly established award, determined by audience vote, recognizes the most popular feature film from outside North America. "No Other Choice" beat out runner-up "Sentimental Value" from Norwegian director Joachim Trier and third-place finisher "Homebound" by India's Neeraj Ghaywan. Based on

Sept. 15, 2025

Lee Byung-hun becomes first Korean actor to win TIFF Special Tribute Award

Lee Byung-hun became the first Korean actor to receive the Special Tribute Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, marking a milestone for Korean cinema at the festival's 50th anniversary celebration. The award was presented by director Park Chan-wook at the TIFF Tribute Awards gala held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Lee joined an elite group of honorees including Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro and filmmaker Hikari. "I began my acting career 35 years ago in t

Sept. 10, 2025

Fighting heat with chills, a month too late

In Korea, summer is the season for horror films, the idea being that you fight the heat with chills down your spine. But "The Cursed" arrives as autumn creeps in, when the weather is already cooling and audiences might not need that extra shiver. It's an omnibus affair, five episodes strung together with different characters and storylines. The anthology format has become something of a go-to strategy for Korean horror in recent years — throw enough scares at the wall, and something's bound to s

Sept. 9, 2025

Sylvia Chang to receive Camellia Award at 30th Busan film festival

Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang will receive the 2025 Camellia Award at the Busan International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday. The honor, presented in partnership with Chanel, recognizes women who have made significant cultural and artistic contributions to Asian cinema. Chang, 71, brings five decades of industry experience to the accolade. She has appeared in over 100 films and has directed 15 features since her debut behind the camera in the 1980s. Her directorial work includes

Sept. 9, 2025

'Run to You' chases Korea's elusive sprinting dreams

Korea dominates plenty of global stages. Its pop stars sell out stadiums worldwide, its esports gamers rake in championship titles, and its filmmakers collect awards at major festivals. But on the track, it's an entirely different story. Case in point: Not a single Korean sprinter has met Olympic qualifying standards for the 100-meter in the past two cycles (the 2020 threshold sat at 10.05 seconds). Into that void comes "Run to You," loosely adapting the story of Kim Kuk-young, Korea's national

Sept. 8, 2025

'No Other Choice' misses out at Venice Film Festival

Park Chan-wook’s comedy-thriller "No Other Choice," touted as a potential beacon amid a lull in the K-cinema landscape, came up short at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, missing out on the Golden Lion. "No Other Choice" was selected to compete for the festival’s top prize, marking the first time in 13 years that a Korean film competed in the main section, following Kim Ki-duk’s "Pieta" in 2012. For Park, it was his first invitation to Venice in two decades, since "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" in 2

Sept. 7, 2025

South Korea boosts film industry budget by 80 percent to jump-start recovery

South Korea will pump 149.8 billion won ($108 million) into its film industry next year, an 80.8 percent jump from this year’s budget, the Culture Ministry said Friday. It marks the sector’s largest allocation outside emergency pandemic relief in 2022. The funding package allocates 8 billion won for planning and development, up from 4.7 billion won. Midbudget films combining commercial and artistic appeal will receive 20 billion won — double the current amount. A new 1.7 billion won fund will su

Sept. 5, 2025

'Demon Slayer' rides 4DX wave to box office glory

"Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" is tearing up the Korean box office, holding court at number one for 13 consecutive days with 3.4 million tickets sold as of Thursday. The secret behind its phenomenal run, according to cinema operators, is the 4DX format, a multisensory theater experience that's got audiences literally feeling every sword clash and demonic showdown. The country's leading multiplex chain CJ CGV, parent company of 4DX developer CJ 4DPlex, announced the Japanese animation hit over 9

Sept. 4, 2025

Government to roll out 6,000 won discount vouchers for movie tickets, again

Starting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 8, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council will begin distributing movie discount vouchers worth 6,000 won each. A total of 1.88 million vouchers will be distributed. Vouchers can be claimed via the websites and apps of major multiplex chains, including CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox and CineQ. They will also be available at independent and arthouse theaters, small cinemas and senior-focused venues across the country. Two vouchers will be

Sept. 3, 2025