Kim Min-ha and Joo Jong Hyuk star in "Day and Night to Each Other," which has been chosen as the opening film of the 31st BIFF.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival, which opens on Oct. 6 (Tue), has selected director Kim Jong-kwan's Day and Night to Each Other as its opening film.
Day and Night to Each Other is a film of cheerful, understated and lovable conversations capturing four pairs of men and women who cross paths in a single café during the seasonal transition from summer to autumn. In the same café at different times, there is the accidental encounter between Yujin (Kim Min-ha) and Hyun-oh (Joo Jong Hyuk); the odd and unexpected reunion of middle school friends Sang-mi (Han Sun-hwa) and Young-min (Jang Ryul); the spark-filled, laughter-laden first meeting between web novelist Hye-jin (Shim Eunkyung) and film director Dong-nam (Lee Heejun); and a tender moment between idol trainee Na-kyung (Jeon Soyoung) and her partner Jong-su (Kim Dong-hwi). Making full use of the café's character as a place where many unspecified people come and go and stay only briefly, the film depicts each character's narrative, personality, atmosphere and nuances with lively pacing and thoughtful observation.
Director Kim Jong-kwan was immediately recognized as a promising talent with a gift for delicate emotional direction after winning the jury special prize at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival for his short debut Polaroid Operation (2004). He made numerous short films including Paradise (2005) and The Ghosts of the Archive (2014), directed the feature A Little Closer in 2010, and solidified his position as a director by winning the International Federation of Film Critics award at the Moscow International Film Festival for Worst Day (2016). He has presented a variety of works such as The Table (2017), Josee (2020) and Nowhere (2021), and expanded his distinct cinematic world by participating in omnibus projects that collaborated with several directors on Netflix original series including Persona (2019), The Night of the Moon (2022) and The Killers (2024).
Among these, this year's Busan International Film Festival opening film Day and Night to Each Other is, following the selection of The Table (2017) in the Korean Cinema Today–Panorama at the 2016 Busan International Film Festival, four stories that take place in a single space.
The Busan International Film Festival said "Day and Night to Each Other is a graceful film in which director Kim Jong-kwan's cinematic concerns, style, viewpoint and world, which he has pursued with painstaking diligence as a creator, have reached a provisional maturity. Without excessive setups or extreme developments, the film's careful depiction of each character's distinctive inner voice, emotions and subtle shifts in relationships is a major strength and virtue. In addition, a large number of actors recognized for solid acting skills — Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong Hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Jang Ryul, Shim Eunkyung, Lee Heejun, Jeon Soyoung and Kim Dong-hwi — along with promising newcomers who raise expectations for the future, come together to fully demonstrate their acting chemistry and ensemble. We select the lively yet solemn film Day and Night to Each Other as the opening film of the 31st Busan International Film Festival this year."
The opening film Day and Night to Each Other can be seen at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 6 (Tue) to Oct. 15 (Thu).
Meanwhile, the 31st Busan International Film Festival will mark its official start by holding a press conference in Busan and Seoul on Sept. 1. At the press conference, detailed plans for this year's Busan International Film Festival — including major selections and program events, Asia content and the film market, and various side events — will be announced.
[Photo] 31st Busan International Film Festival
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