The 31st Busan International Film Festival will open on the 6th of next month and present 315 films over 10 days. Global film figures including actor Yang Ja-kyung, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Isabelle Huppert will also visit Busan.
The Busan International Film Festival executive committee held a press conference on the 1st at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae District, Busan, and unveiled this year's major programs and invited films.
This year's festival will kick off on a Tuesday, a day earlier than in previous years. The move takes into account that most audience members plan their viewing schedules in the first week of the opening. From Thursday to Sunday, when crowds are heaviest, the number of daily screenings will increase from the usual four to five.
This year's official selections total 246 films from 59 countries, including 95 world premieres. The scale of official selections is the largest since 2019. The festival will screen 315 films.
In the competition institutional sector, newly established last year, 14 films were invited, including director Lim Ha-yeon's "Tae-ju of That Day," director Kim Jeong-hun's "Shave," and Iranian director Majid Majidi's "Bread and Book."
The Icons section, which showcases new works by world-renowned masters, will screen a record 36 films. The lineup includes "Fjord" by director Cristian Mungiu, winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, "Suddenly the Condition Worsens" by director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, and "Bitter Christmas" by director Pedro Almodóvar.
A special program focusing on animated films will also be held. Instead of works that are widely accessible to the public like those by director Miyazaki Hayao, it will present 13 short and feature-length films that have been hard to see in Korea.
Among Korean films, audiences will see "Day and Night to Each Other," the opening film by director Kim Jong-kwan; "Dora" by director Jeong Ju-ri; and "Still Brilliant" by director Song Il-gon, which marks actor Kim Hye-ja's return to the big screen after nine years.
Master filmmakers and famous actors will also come to Busan. Maggie Gyllenhaal will attend the festival with her new film "Flesh Impact." Yang Ja-kyung, the first Asian actor to win the Academy Award for best actress, will attend as the recipient of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. Isabelle Huppert, director Majid Majidi, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, and actors Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing will also visit Busan.