26TH BIFF COMMENCES

[Anchor Lead]

The Busan International Film Festival marking its 26th year opened amid grand fanfare. This year’s festival regained its grandeur as a genuine cinematic celebration despite the pandemic.

[Pkg]

The red carpet event returned to the Busan International Film Festival this year, signaling the beginning of a real, in-person festivity. The opening ceremony hosted by Park So-dam and Song Joong-ki was followed by the screening of the opening film, “Heaven: To the Land of Happiness” directed by Im Sang-soo. At this year’s festival, over 220 films from 70 countries will be presented on 29 screens in six theaters over the next ten days. Disease control measures dictate that only half of the seats can be filled. But unlike last year, when a single film was shown only once in theaters, each movie will get two to three screenings this year.

[Soundbite] Lee Yong-kwan(Chair, Busan International Film Festival) : "I wish for this year’s festival to be a chance to overcome the pandemic. The festival is going to conduct a great experiment this year, screening at both offline and online venues to keep in step with digitalization."

Outdoor events began today with an open talk with the cast of “Space Sweepers.” Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Oscar-winning Director Bong Joon-ho are scheduled to host entertaining talks. The two directors were each awarded for different movies at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. One-third of all movies to be screened this year at BIFF are world premieres, living up to the festival’s reputation of the greatest film festival in Asia. Three drama series produced by an over-the-top media service will make their debut at the festival this year, extending the scope of visual works offered at the BIFF.

[Soundbite] Park Seong-ho(Programmer, Busan International Film Festival) : "These dramas cost just as much as a movie. I expect that the world will see these great works for the first time at BIFF."

BIFF will close in the evening of October 15th with the outdoor screening of Hong Kong director Leung Longman’s “Anita.”