Busan Film Festival sets biggest slate since 2019 with 315 films

The Busan International Film Festival will screen 315 films at its 31st edition next month, organizers announced Tuesday.

The lineup includes 246 official selections from 59 countries — 95 of which are world premieres — making it the festival's biggest slate since 2019.

This year's edition is the first since the International Federation of Film Producers Associations designated Busan as one of its 17 A-list festivals. The winner of the Busan Award for best film now also qualifies for submission to the Oscar for best international feature. The distinction puts Busan alongside the five other Oscar-qualifying festivals: Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Toronto.

"Whether we're one of six festivals or one of 17, Busan still falls short in many ways, and there are many problems to solve," festival chair Park Kwang-su said at a press conference in Seoul. "Our biggest question is how Asia's leading festival can develop into an original festival that fits our own reality."

Now in its second year, the best film competition brings together 14 Asian films, 12 of them world premieres. Four are from first-time directors, and four are by women filmmakers.

The lineup includes "Midday Meal" by Iranian director Majid Majidi, known for "Children of Heaven," and "The First Taste of Loneliness," which pairs Chinese director Gu You with actor Zhou Xun. Also included in the line-up are entries from Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Taiwan.

"When we started the competition last year, we had to build trust from the ground up," festival director Jung Han-seok said. "This year, the quality of submissions has risen across the board, and the pool has become much deeper."

Animation is a major focus this year: 14 animated titles are spread across the festival's sections, reflecting the medium's boom in recent years. A separate 13-film special program brings to theaters rarely screened works of Japanese animation, such as Tezuka Osamu's "Phoenix 2772 (Space Firebird)" and Rintaro's "Metropolis."

"It wasn't easy to put together. The licensing fees were steep, and the conditions attached were even tougher," Jung said. "It will be a rare chance to experience these films in a theater."

The Icons section, dedicated to new work by leading auteurs, expands to a record 35 titles. Fifteen were screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival, among them Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or winner "Fjord" and Andrey Zvyagintsev's Grand Prix winner "Minotaur."

Guests this year include Maggie Gyllenhaal, who makes her first visit to Korea with "Flesh Impact," a short made for the centenary of Marilyn Monroe's birth. Michelle Yeoh returns to the festival after 15 years to receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award; Hong Kong director Ann Hui will receive the Camellia Award, which honors women in film.

Isabelle Huppert, Fan Bingbing and Majidi, on his first trip to Korea, are also set to attend. The festival is still finalizing invitations for three more guests, including a top Hollywood director, Jung said.

To expand access for visitors, the festival opens on a Tuesday for the first time and increases daily screenings from four slots to five from Thursday through Sunday. Kim Jong-kwan's ensemble drama "The Table: Day and Night" opens the festival.

"Last year, we spoke of overcoming a crisis. The film industry hasn't fully recovered, but the mood is much more optimistic now," Jung said. "We hope this year's festival can help keep that momentum going."

The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15 at venues across Busan.