25th Busan International Film Festival explained
The 25th Busan International Film Festival took place on October 21 to 30, 2020 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. A total of 192 films from 68 countries were screened at the festival, the numbers reduced from the previous edition.[1]
The festival was scheduled to be held on October 7–16, 2020, but was postponed due to concern over the spread of COVID-19 after Chuseok holidays. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the attendance of BIFF had been downsized and no international guests were invited to the festival. All outdoor events were also cancelled in order to prevent crowds.[2] The screening limit capacity were only up to 50 people. The judging of all films took place online.[3]
The most prestigious awards of the festival, New Currents, were handed to A Balance and Three.[4]
Juries
New Currents
Kim Jiseok Award
BIFF Mecenat Award
- Nick Deocampo, Filipino director
- Park Inho, South Korean film critic
- Chalida Uabumrungjit, Thai archive director
Sonje Award
- Ifa Isfansyah, Indonesian director
- Kim Yi-seok, South Korean film professor
- Sharipa Urazbayeva, Uzbekistani director
Actor and Actress of the Year
FIPRESCI Award
- Sanja Struna, Slovenian film critic
- Sung Il-kwon, South Korean film critic
- Alin Taciyan, FIPRESCI deputy secretary
NETPAC Award
- Riccardo Gelli, Florence Korean Film Festival director
- Kim Kyoung-wook, South Korean film critic
- Hassan Muthalib, Malaysian writer, film critic, and film historian
DGK Megabox Award
- Kim Ho-jun, South Korean director
- Lee Sang-cheol, South Korean director
- Cho Chang-ho, South Korean director
KBS Independent Film Award
CGK&SamyangXEEN Award
- Nam Dong-keun, South Korean cinematographer
- Park Jung-hun, South Korean cinematographer
- Sung Seung-taek, South Korean cinematographer
Official selection
Opening and closing films
Gala Presentation
Icons
A Window on Asian Cinema
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| 18 Kilohertz | 18 килогерц | Farkhat Sharipov | Kazakhstan |
| 200 Meters | ٢٠٠ متر | Ameen Nayfeh | Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden |
| A'hr | കയറ്റം | Sanal Kumar Sasidharan | India |
| All the Things We Never Said | 生きちゃった | Yuya Ishii | Japan |
| Bittersweet | बिटर स्वीट | Ananth Narayan Mahadevan | India |
| Captive | नजरबंद | Suman Mukhopadhyay | India |
| Cleaners | Glenn Barit | Philippines |
| Coalesce | Les affluents | Jessé Miceli | Cambodia, France |
| Death of Nintendo | Raya Martin | Philippines, United States |
| Drowning in Holy Water | مردن در آب مطهر | Navid Mahmoudi | Afghanistan, Iran |
| Everyday Is a Lullaby | Putrama Tuta | Indonesia |
| Farida's 2000 Songs | Фариданинг икки минг қўшиғи | Yalkin Tuychiev | Uzbekistan |
| Happy Old Year | ฮาวทูทิ้ง..ทิ้งอย่างไรไม่ให้เหลือเธอ | Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit | Thailand |
| Killer Spider | عنکبوت | Ebrahim Irajzade | Iran |
| Little Big Women | 孤味 | Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu | Taiwan |
| Living In Your Sky | 空に住む | Shinji Aoyama | Japan |
| Mama | 妈妈和七天的时间 | Li Dongmei | China, France |
| Matto's Bicycle | Matto Ki Saikal | M. Gani | India |
| Milestone | मील पत्थर - Milestone | Ivan Ayr | India |
| Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone | おらおらでひとりいぐも | Shuichi Okita | Japan |
| Sister Sister | Chị Chị Em Em | Kathy Uyen | Vietnam |
| Soirée | ソワレ | Bunji Sotoyama | Japan |
| Striding Into the Wind | 野马分鬃 | Wei Shujun | China |
| The Disciple | Chaitanya Tamhane | India |
| The Paper Tigers | Quoc Bao Tran | Vietnam |
| The Salt in Our Waters | নোনা জলের কাব্য | Rezwan Shahriar Sumit | Bangladesh, France |
| The Slaughterhouse | کشتارگاه | Abbas Amini | Iran |
| There Is No Evil | شیطان وجود ندارد | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany |
| Tiong Bahru Social Club | Bee Thiam Tan | Singapore |
| Where Is Pinki? | Pinki Elli? | Prithvi Konanur | India |
| Wind | 随风飘散 | Dadren Wanggyal | China |
| Yellow Cat | Сары мысық | Adilkhan Yerzhanov | Kazakhstan |
| Your Eyes Tell | きみの瞳が問いかけている | Takahiro Miki | Japan | |
Highlighted titles and daggers indicate Kim Joseok Award winners.
New Currents
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| A Balance | 由宇子の天秤 | Yujiro Harumoto | Japan |
| A Leave | 휴가 | Lee Ran-hee | South Korea |
| Bilesuvar | Elvin Adigozel | Azerbaijan, France |
| Butterfly on the Windowpane | ऐना झ्यालको पुतली | Sujit Bidari | Nepal |
| Chnchik | Aram Shahbazyan | Armenia, Germany, Netherlands |
| Harami | हरामी | Shyam Madiraju | India, United States |
| Money Has Four Legs | ခြေလေးချောင် | Maung Sun | Myanmar |
| Snowball | 최선의 삶 | Lee Woo-jung | South Korea |
| Summer Blur | 汉南夏日 | Han Shuai | China |
| Three | Tpu | Ruslan Pak | Kazakhstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan | |
Highlighted titles and daggers indicate New Currents winners.
Highlighted title and double-dagger indicate FIPRESCI Award winner.
Hashtag indicates KTH Award winner.
Down-arrow indicates CGK&SamyangXEEN Award winner.
Korean Cinema Today
Panorama
Vision
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| And There Was Light | 온 세상이 하얗다 | Kim Ji-seok | South Korea |
| Beyond You | 그대 너머에 | Park Hong-min | South Korea |
| Fighter | 파이터 | Jéro Yun | South Korea |
| Good Person § | 좋은 사람 | Jung Wook | South Korea |
| Limecrime | 라임크라임 | Lee Seung-hwan, Yoo Jae-wook | South Korea |
| Our Joyful Summer Days | 기쁜 우리 여름날 | Lee Yu-bin | South Korea |
| Our Midnight | 아워 미드나잇 | Lim Jung-eun | South Korea |
| Short Vacation | 종착역 | Kwon Min-pyo, Seo Han-sol | South Korea |
| The Slug | 태어나길 잘했어 | Choi Jin-young | South Korea |
| Young Adult Matters | 어른들은 몰라요 | Lee Hwan | South Korea | |
Highlighted title and dagger indicate NETPAC Award winner.
Highlighted titles and double-daggers indicate DGK MEGABOX Award winners.
Section sign (§) indicates CGV Arthouse Award winner.
Hashtag indicates KTH Award winner.
Up-arrow indicates KBS Independent Film Award winner.
World Cinema
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| All Hands on Deck | À l'abordage! | Guillaume Brac | France |
| Ammonite | Francis Lee | United Kingdom, Australia, United States |
| And Tomorrow the Entire World | Und morgen die ganze Welt | Julia von Heinz | Germany, France |
| Beginning | Დასაწყისი | Dea Kulumbegashvili | France, Georgia |
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | Burhan Qurbani | Germany |
| Death Knell | Hil kanpaiak | Imanol Rayo | Spain |
| Digger | Georgis Grigorakis | Greece, France |
| Falling | Viggo Mortensen | Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark |
| Gagarine | Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh | France |
| I Carry You with Me | Heidi Ewing | Mexico, United States |
| I Met a Girl | Luke Eve | Australia |
| I Never Cry | Jak najdalej stąd | Piotr Domalewski | Poland, Ireland |
| Ibrahim | Samir Guesmi | France |
| In the Dusk | Sutemose | Šarūnas Bartas | Lithuania, France, Czech Republic, Serbia, Portugal, Latvia |
| La fortaleza | Jorge Thielen Armand | Venezuela, France, Netherlands, Colombia |
| La Verónica | Leo Medel | Chile |
| Listen | Ana Rocha de Sousa | United Kingdom, Portugal |
| Love Affair(s) | Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait | Emmanuel Mouret | France |
| Lowdown Dirty Criminals | Paul Murphy | New Zealand |
| Mandibles | Mandibules | Quentin Dupieux | France, Belgium |
| My Favorite War | Mans mīļākais karš | Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen | Norway, Latvia |
| My Tender Matador | Tengo miedo torero | Rodrigo Sepúlveda | Chile, Argentina, Mexico |
| Night of the Kings | La Nuit des rois | Philippe Lacôte | Ivory Coast, France, Canada, Senegal |
| Nowhere Special | Uberto Pasolini | United Kingdom, Italy, Romania |
| Padrenostro | Claudio Noce | Italy |
| Passion Simple | Danielle Arbid | France, Belgium |
| Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time | Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre | Lili Horvát | Hungary |
| Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Norway, Turkey |
| Rascal | Vaurien | Peter Dourountzis | France |
| Red Soil | Rouge | Farid Bentoumi | France |
| Saint-Narcisse | Bruce LaBruce | Canada |
| She Dies Tomorrow | Amy Seimetz | United States |
| Shorta | Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid | Denmark |
| Slalom | Charlène Favier | France |
| Spring Blossom | Seize printemps | Suzanne Lindon | France |
| Teddy | Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma | France |
| The Best Families | Las mejores familias | Javier Fuentes-León | Peru, Colombia |
| The Death of Cinema and My Father Too | מותו של הקולנוע ושל אבא שלי גם | Dani Rosenberg | Israel |
| The Third War | La Troisième Guerre | Giovanni Aloi | France |
| The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) | C.W. Winter, Anders Edström | United States, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom |
| Tragic Jungle | Selva Trágica | Yulene Olaizola | Mexico, France, Colombia |
| Zanka Contact | Ismaël el Iraki | France, Morocco, Belgium | |
Flash Forward
Highlighted title and dagger indicate Flash Forward winner.
Wide Angle
Korean Short Film Competition
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| Ava from My Class | 연극 수업 | Kang You-min | South Korea, United States |
| Georgia | 조지아 | Jayil Pak | South Korea |
| HERO | 히로 | Jang Jun-young | South Korea |
| High Surf Expected | 울렁울렁 울렁대는 가슴안고 | Ahn Jae-hong | South Korea |
| House of Heeji | 희지의 세계 | Lee Hyo-jung | South Korea |
| Peace River | 화천 | Jang Min-joon | South Korea |
| Snail | 달팽이 | Kim Tae-yang | South Korea |
| The Migration-ship | 이주선 | Oh Yoo-bin | South Korea |
| Tree | 나무 | Cho Hyun-suh | South Korea |
| Where Does the Wind Come From? | 바람 어디서 부는지 | Kim Jee-hye | South Korea |
| Wolves | Lee Seung-wan, Choi Rack-won, Kim Ju-hyeong | South Korea | |
Highlighted title and dagger indicate Sonje Award winner.
Asian Short Film Competition
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| A Scarecrow | Rajesh Prasad Khatri | Nepal, France, Hong Kong, China |
| All the Time | هرگز، گاهی، همیشه | Shadi Karamroudi | Iran |
| Bình | Ostin Fam | Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand |
| How to Die Young in Manila | Petersen Vargas | Philippines |
| Kanya | கன்யா | Apoorva Satish | India, Czech Republic |
| Kids on Fire | Kyle Nieva | Philippines |
| Mountain Cat | Shiluus | Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | Mongolia, United Kingdom |
| Sunrise in My Mind | ថ្ងៃរះក្នុងចិត្ | Danech San | Cambodia |
| The Cloud Is Still There | 蓝蓝天空 | Mickey Lai | Malaysia |
| Transit | Ariq Anam Khan | Bangladesh, United Kingdom | |
Highlighted title and dagger indicate Sonje Award winner.
Documentary Competition
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| Children of the Night | Behrouz Nouranipour | Iran |
| Fear(less) and Dear | 誠惶（不）誠恐，親愛的 | Anson Hoi Shan Mak | Hong Kong, China |
| Mishima: The Last Debate | 三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘 50年目の真実 | Keisuke Toyoshima | Japan |
| Sasang: The Town on Sand | 사상 | Park Bae-il | South Korea |
| School Town King | School Town King แร็ปทะลุฝ้า ราชาไม่หยุดฝัน | Wattanapume Laisuwanchai | Thailand |
| Self-portrait 2020 | 셀프-포트레이트 2020 | Lee Dong-woo | South Korea |
| Sewing Sisters | 미싱타는 여자들: 전태일의 누이들 | Kim Jung-young, Lee Hyuk-rae | South Korea |
| Sister J | 재춘언니 | Lee Soo-jung | South Korea |
| Song Hae 1927 | 송해 1927 | Jéro Yun | South Korea |
| The Art of Living in Danger | Mina Keshavarz | Iran, Germany |
| The Invisible Shore | 无尽的航程 | Zhao Qi | China |
| When a Hen Crows | 암탉이 울면 | Dabin | South Korea | |
Highlighted titles and daggers indicate BIFF Mecenat Award winners.
Documentary Showcase
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|
| A Rifle and a Bag | Cristina Haneș, Isabella Rinaldi, Arya Rothe | India, Romania, Italy, Qatar |
| Candlelight Revolution | 나의 촛불 | Kim Eui-sung, Joo Jin-woo | South Korea |
| City of Outlanders | 군산전기 | Moon Seung-wook, Yoo Ye-jin | South Korea |
| Good Light, Good Air | 좋은 빛, 좋은 공기 | Im Heung-soon | South Korea |
| Hong Kong Moments | Bing Zhou | China, Germany |
| Irradiated | Irradiés | Rithy Panh | France, Cambodia |
| My Body | Il mio corpo | Michele Pennetta | Switzerland, Italy |
| Notturno | Gianfranco Rosi | Italy, France, Germany |
| Speed of Happiness | 행복의 속도 | Park Hyuck-jee | South Korea |
| The Fight | Eli Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | United States |
| The Mole Agent | El agente topo | Maite Alberdi | Chile, United States, Germany, Netherlands, Spain |
| The Painter and the Thief | Kunstneren og tyven | Benjamin Ree | Norway |
| Your Face | 니얼굴 | Seo Dong-il | South Korea | |
Open Cinema
Awards
The following awards were presented at the 25th edition:[5]
- New Currents Award
- A Balance by Yujiro Harumoto
- Three by Ruslan Pak
- Kim Jiseok Award
- Drowning in Holy Water by Navid Mahmoudi
- The Slaughterhouse by Abbas Amini
- BIFF Mecenat Award
- The Art of Living in Danger by Mina Keshavarz
- Sister J by Lee Soo-jung
- Sonje Award
- Actor & Actress of the Year Award
- Actor of the Year: Ji Soo for Our Joyful Summer Days
- Actress of the Year: Lim Seong-mi for Fighter
- Flash Forward Award
- FIPRESCI Award
- NETPAC Award
- DGK MEGABOX Award
- Young Adult Matters by Lee Hwan
- Good Person by Jung Wook
- CGV Arthouse Award
- KTH Award
- Snowball by Lee Woo-jung
- Young Adult Matters by Lee Hwan
- KBS Independent Film Award
- Limecrime by Lee Seung-hwan and Yoo Jae-wook
- CGK&SamyangXEEN Award
Notes and References
- Web site: 2020 Busan International Film Festival to proceed in spite of pandemic. The Hankyoreh. October 22, 2020. August 6, 2021. Jung-min. Suh.
- Web site: Busan International Film Festival downsizes and postpones for two weeks. Screendaily. Jean. Noh. September 11, 2020. August 6, 2021.
- Web site: Busan Film Festival to Shrink, Open With 'Septet: The Story of Hong Kong'. Variety. September 13, 2020. August 7, 2021. Patrick. Frater.
- Web site: 'A Balance', 'Three' take New Currents awards at Busan film festival closing. Screendaily. October 30, 2020. August 6, 2021. Jean. Noh.
- Web site: 'A Balance' and 'Three' Win Busan Festival's Competition Awards. Variety. October 29, 2020. August 7, 2021. Patrick. Frater.
