27th Busan International Film Festival

The 27th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 5 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea till October 14. This year, the festival restarted events and program sections which were not conducted due to COVID-19 for last 2 years. The festival opened with Iranian film Scent of the Wind by director Seyed Hadi Mohaghegh, Jeon Yeo-been with Ryu Jun-yeol were master of ceremonies for the opening ceremony.

In 27th edition 243 films from 71 countries were invited, in these films there were 89 world premieres, and 13 international premieres. 111 community service films were also part of 2022 festival.

This year BIFF opened special program, ‘The New Wave of Japanese Cinema’ dedicated to 10 notable next-generation Japanese directors. 10 Japanese-directed films selected by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Shozo Ichiyama, the executive director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, Teruoka Sozo, a programmer at the Osaka Asian Film Festival, and Toshiyuki Hasegawa, a programmer at the Skip City International D Cinema Film Festival, will be screened during the course of the festival. Another addition to special program was 'A New Perspective on Documentary in the 21st Century', which introduced 10 innovative documentaries. These films were fresh and unique works that are outside the traditional documentary framework. The third feature of 'Special Program in Focus' was screening of 6 films of Tony Leung, a Hong Kong actor and singer, who is also the winner of the 'Asian Filmmaker of the Year' award this year.

The festival visited by 160,000 people closed on October 14, with Japanese film One Man by director Kei Ishikawa. Han Sun-hwa with Kwon Yul hosted the closing ceremony of the festival.

Events

 * Actors' House: Contemporary actors representing Korea, having acting talents and star qualities, tell honest and in-depth stories about their acting and works.
 * BIFF in the Neighborhood: BIFF in the Neighborhood is a program where the entire village of Busan is transformed into a venue for the film festival.
 * Cinema Together: October 10 to 12 — Mentors and mentees program with 16 people including directors, actors, critics, and music directors acting as mentors.
 * Everything About Avatar: The Way of Water:
 * Unveiling of the remastered version of Nakdong River: The film Nakdong River (1952) by Jeon Chang-geun, produced during the Korean War will be digitally remastered and premiered at the festival.

Jury
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New Currents Award

 * Serge Toubiana, a French journalist and film critic . He was director of the Cinémathèque française and president of Unifrance, (Chairman of jury)
 * Alain Guiraudie, French film director and screenwriter
 * Kamila Andini, an Indonesian film director
 * Ryō Kase, a Japanese actor
 * Lee Yoo-Jin, CEO of Film History and South Korean producer.

Kim Jiseok Award

 * Jean-Michel Frodon, a French journalist, critic and historian of cinema.
 * Naoko Ogigami, a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer.
 * Kim Hee-jung, director and winner of the 21st Busan International Film Festival APM Creative Content Agency Director's Award.

BIFF Mecenat Award

 * Wang Bing, Chinese director, documentary film-maker. Chairman of the jury for the BIFF Mecenat Awards
 * Mohammed Osama, Syrian director
 * Kim Il-ran, South Korean director

Sonje Award

 * Saeed Roustayi, Iranian director, screenwriter and producer
 * Hayakawa Chie, Japanese director
 * Yoon Ga-eun, South Korean film director and script writer

FIPRESCI Award

 * Eija Niskanen, Finnish film critic and film event coordinator.
 * Wang Hsin, a Taiwanese writer and cultural critic.
 * Ahn Chi-yong, South Korean film critic, A member of both the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the Korean Association of Film Critics, Ahn writes film critiques at Le Monde diplomatique and OhmyNews.

NETPAC Award

 * Gerwin Tamsma, Netherlands Film Critic
 * Tsengel Davaasambuu, Mongolia Film Producer
 * Kim Dong-hyun, Festival Director of Seoul Independent Film Festival

Actor of the Year Award

 * Lee Young-ae, a South Korean actress
 * Kim Sang-kyung, a South Korean actor

Program sections
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The festival has following sections:
 * Gala Presentation
 * Icons
 * New Currents
 * Kim Jiseok
 * A Window on Asian Cinema
 * Korean Cinema Today Vision Section
 * World Cinema
 * Flash Forward
 * Wide Angle
 * Open Cinema
 * Midnight Passion
 * On Screen
 * Special Program in Focus
 * Discovering New Japanese Cinema
 * New Perspective of Documentary in the 21st Century

Opening and closing films
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New Currents
The selected titles are eligible for multiple awards, including the New Currents Award, the FIPRESCI Award, the NETPAC Award, and the KB New Currents Audience Award.


 * Highlighted title indicates award winner

Korean Cinema Today - Vision Section
This year 12 films will be showcased as world premiere.
 * Highlighted title indicates award winner

Korean Cinema Today - Special Premiere
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Flash Forward
A competition among non-Asian filmmakers’ first or second features that take an innovative and original approach to cinema. The winner is decided by the audience and awarded the Flash Forward Award.

Open Cinema
A collection of new and internationally acclaimed films, offering an ideal mix of the popular with the artistic are screened at the hallmark outdoor theater.

Midnight Passion
A collection of thrillers, horror and action films.

On Screen
Nine drama series of the year were presented in this section.

Discovering New Japanese Cinema
The festival will screen the works of 10 notable next-generation Japanese directors who have made their debuts after 2010 and who have been acknowledged by the press and critics.

New Perspective of Documentary in the 21st Century
In 2022 edition the festival will present a special program 'A New Perspective on Documentary in the 21st Century' introducing 10 innovative documentaries. These films will be fresh and unique works that go beyond the traditional documentary genre.

Awards and winners
Awards

The following awards will be presented at the 27th edition:


 * The Asian Filmmaker of the Year
 * Korean Cinema Award
 * New Currents Award
 * Kim Jiseok Award
 * BIFF Mecenat Award
 * Sonje Award
 * Actor & Actress of the Year Award
 * Actor of the Year:
 * Actress of the Year:
 * KB New Currents Audience Award
 * Flash Forward Audience Award
 * FIPRESCI Award
 * NETPAC Award
 * DGK MEGABOX Award
 * CGV Arthouse Award
 * KBS Independent Film Award
 * CGK Award (Cinematographers Guild of Korea)
 * Critic b Award
 * Watcha Award from 2021
 * Citizen Critics' Award
 * Busan Cinephile Award

Winners
Source:
 * New Currents Award:
 * A Wild Roomer by Lee Jeong-hong, South Korea
 * Shivamma by Jaishankar Aryar, India
 * KIM Jiseok Award:
 * Scent of Wind by Hadi Mohaghegh, Iran
 * Alterations by Yalkin Tuychiev, Uzbekistan
 * BIFF Mecenat Award
 * A Table for Two by Kim Bo-ram, South Korea
 * The Football Aficionado by Sharmin Mojtahedzadeh, Paliz Khoshdel, Iran
 * Sonje Award:
 * Southern Afternoon by Lan Tian, China
 * I’m Here by Jeong Eunuk, South Korea
 * Actors of the Year:
 * Kim Youngsung, Big Sleep, Actor, South Korea
 * KIM Geumsoon, Star of Ulsan, Actress, South Korea
 * KB New Currents Audience Award:
 * The Winter Within by Aamir Bashir, India, France, Qatar
 * Flash Forward Audience Award:
 * Riceboy Sleeps by Anthony Shim, Canada
 * FIPRESCI Award:
 * Thousand and One Nights by Kubota Nao, Japan
 * NETPAC Award:
 * A Wild Roomer by Lee Jeong-hong, Director South Korea
 * DGK MEGABOX Award:
 * Big Sleep by Kim Tae-hoon, South Korea
 * Star of Ulsan by Jung Ki-hyuk, South Korea
 * CGV Award	Greenhouse:
 * Lee Sol-hui, Director, South Korea
 * KBS Independent Film Award:
 * A Wild Roomer by Lee Jeong-hong, South Korea
 * CGK Award:
 * Hail to Hell by Jung Grim, Cinematographer	South Korea
 * Critic b Award:
 * A Wild Roomer by Lee Jeong-hong, South Korea
 * Watcha Award:
 * Peafowl by Byun Sung-bin, South Korea
 * Greenhouse by Lee Sol-hui, South Korea
 * Watcha Short Award:
 * Other Life by Roh Dohyeon, South Korea
 * Aurora Media Award:
 * Greenhouse by Lee Sol-hui, South Korea
 * Big Sleep by Kim Tae-hoon, South Korea
 * Citizen Critics’ Award:
 * Birth by Yoo Ji-young, South Korea
 * Busan Cinephile Award:
 * While We Watched by Vinay Shukla, United Kingdom
 * The Choon-yun Award
 * Baej Jae-ho, Producer, South Korea