Controversy-ridden Busan film fest to open next month as scheduled

Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest film fest which has for the past two years been mired in controversy with the Busan Metropolitan Government, is set to take place Oct. 6-15 in Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan.

The festival’s organizers announced this year’s lineup and addressed the latest developments in the festival’s fight for autonomy at press conferences in Busan and Seoul on Tuesday.

“My main focus was that (BIFF) must open this year, and that we must preserve its identity, autonomy and freedom that we’ve defended for 20 years,” festival chief Kim Dong-ho, newly appointed in July, told reporters at the Hotel President in Seoul.

“I hope to turn the past two years’ conflict into an opportunity for the festival and its new beginning for the next 20 years.”

BIFF will be a festival that is “open to public opinion,” one in which “the citizens and film industry coexist,” Kim added.

“A Quiet Dream” by Korean-Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lu, starring actress Han Ye-ri, will open the festival while “The Dark Wind” by Iraqi actor-director Hussein Hassan has been chosen as the closing film.

Now in its 21st edition, BIFF will feature 301 feature and short films from 69 countries, including 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres -- numbers that fall slightly short of last year’s 304 films from 75 countries. 

Competing in the New Currents category, which awards Asia’s promising up-and-coming filmmakers, are 11 films from 10 countries, including India’s “A Billion Colour Story” and China’s “The Donor.”

Influential Malian director Souleymane Cisse will be head juror for the category, while Indian producer Guneet Monga and Bero Beyer, the director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, will participate as jurors.

Films will be shown on 34 screens at five theaters throughout Busan. The opening ceremony will be hosted by actor Sol Kyung-gu and actress Han Hyo-joo.

Bumpy road to Busan

Recent months have seen significant setbacks for this year’s BIFF. The festival has been in dispute with the Busan government ever since it screened the controversial documentary film, “The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol,” in 2014 against the Busan Mayor‘s wish that it be taken out of the program roster. The city subsequently launched an unprecedented audit of the festival organizers and slashed the budget, which BIFF claimed were carried out in retaliation for the documentary screening.

Much of the hubbub has now died down, BIFF officials said, with major points of contention resolved through the amendment of BIFF bylaws. Formerly, the Busan mayor was automatically appointed BIFF’s chairman; now, the festival’s chief is elected by its general assembly, allowing it greater autonomy in its operations. 

The amendment, which also includes articles that guarantee freedom in programming, was finalized through an extraordinary meeting on July 22. The amendment was approved by the culture minister on July 28, Kim said.

Another problem plaguing the organizers was how many Korean filmmakers would participate in the dispute-ridden festival. In March, an ad hoc committee of Korean filmmakers declared a boycott of BIFF in protest of Busan city’s meddling in the festival. In August, after the passage of amendment to the BIFF bylaws, four of the nine film associations that make up the committee voted to continue with the boycott, while four voted against and one deferred. Each filmmaker is thus free to act individually, the committee said.

BIFF leaders Kim and executive director Kang Soo-youn said they will engage in open conversation with as many filmmakers as possible and persuade them to attend.

Government funding accounts for 900 million won ($825,000) of BIFF’s total budget of 12 billion won this year, reflecting an increase of 100 million won over last year. Busan Metropolitan Government’s funding remained the same as last year at 6 billion won. Amounts from sponsors may fluctuate given the recent “instabilities,” Kim said.

Ticket sales will be open Sept. 27-Oct.15 at www.biff.kr. Tickets can also be purchased at several locations in Busan during the festival period.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)