New Currents Explained

New Currents
Awarded For:Best first or second feature films by Asian directors
Presenter:Busan International Film Festival
Country:South Korea
Year:1996
Year2:2023
Holder:The Wrestler by Iqbal Chowdhury, Bangladesh
September 1923 by Tatsuya Mori, Japan

New Currents is a competitive section of Busan International Film Festival's official selection. The section was introduced at the festival's inaugural edition, in 1996.[1]

It showcases the first or second feature films by up-and-coming Asian directors.[2] The two winning directors are awarded each a prize of US$30,000.[3]

Selection

Key
<-- Do not remove the dagger; this is a requirement per Wikipedia's guidelines on color. -->Indicates New Currents winners
<-- Do not remove the dagger; this is a requirement per Wikipedia's guidelines on color. -->Indicates Special Mention winner

1990s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
1996Rain Clouds over Wushan巫山云雨Zhang MingChina
Accidental Legend飛天Wang ShaudiTaiwan
Ah-Chung忠仔Chang Tso-chiTaiwan
All Usual in the VillageXiaocun wu gushiYu XiangyuanChina
Common PlightDard-e moshtarakYassamin MaleknasrIran
Dark Night of the SoulAnantha RathriyaPrasanna VithanageSri Lanka
Mee Pok ManEric KhooSingapore
Nineteenth Aprilউনিশে এপ্রিলRituparno GhoshIndia
OkaeriおかえりMakoto ShinozakiJapan
Three Friends세친구Yim Soon-ryeSouth Korea
Time Lasts시간은 오래 지속된다Kim Eung-sooSouth Korea
The White Balloonبادکنک سفیدJafar PanahiIran
Yuri유리Yang Yun-hoSouth Korea
1997Motel Cactus모텔 선인장Park Ki-yongSouth Korea
After the Crescent月未老Chang Wai ChungHong Kong
Falling Up Waking DownArthur ChyuTaiwan
FictionKahiniMalay BhattacharyaIndia
Fun Bar Karaokeฝัน บ้า คาราโอเกะPen-ek RatanaruangThailand
Green Fish초록물고기Lee Chang-dongSouth Korea
Just Another DayいつものようにSatoshi KenmochiJapan
Made in Hong Kong香港製造Fruit ChanHong Kong
My Secret Cacheひみつの花園Shinobu YaguchiJapan
Paper AirplanesMooshak e KaghaziFarhad MehranfarIran
Wind Echoing in My Being내 안에 우는 바람Jeon Soo-ilSouth Korea
1998Xiao Wu小武Jia ZhangkeChina
After LifeワンダフルライフHirokazu Kore-edaJapan
Fly Low하우등Kim Si-unSouth Korea
Girls' Night Out처녀들의 저녁식사Im Sang-sooSouth Korea
Ikinai生きないHiroshi ShimizuJapan
The Making of Steel长大成人Lu XuechangChina
Paradise Sea楽園Koji HagiudaJapan
Too Many Ways to Be No. 1一個字頭的誕生Wai Ka-faiHong Kong
The Tree of LifeDerakht-e-janFarhad MehranfarIran
The Weight of CottonRui Ka BojhSubhash AgrawalIndia
Who Is Running?ท้าฟ้าลิขิตOxide PangThailand
Yellow Flower둘 하나 섹스Lee Ji-sungSouth Korea
1999Timeless MelodyタイムレスメロディHiroshi OkuharaJapan
Autumn BlossomsあつものShunsaku IkehataJapan
The Bird Who Stops in the Air새는 폐곡선을 그린다Jeon Soo-ilSouth Korea
Black Hole구멍Kim Kuk-hyeongSouth Korea
The Cupཕོར་པ།Khyentse NorbuBhutan, Australia
Love Will Tear Us Apart天上人間Yu Lik-waiHong Kong, China
Men and Women男男女女Liu BingjianChina
O-Negativeรัก-ออกแบบไม่ได้Pinyu RoothumThailand
The OutcastPadadayaLinton SemageSri Lanka
Postcard明信片Cheng Wen-tangTaiwan
SriMarselli SumarnoIndonesia
Throne of DeathMarana SimhasanamMurali NairIndia

2000s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
2000The Day I Became a Womanروزی که زن شدمMarzieh MeshkiniIran, Italy
Die Bad죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나Ryoo Seung-wanSouth Korea
DjomehجمعهHassan YektapanahIran
Father冤家父子Wang ShuoChina
Fluffy Rhapsody起毛球了Wu Mi-senTaiwan
Hidden Whisper小百无禁忌Vivian ChangTaiwan
Interview인터뷰Daniel H. ByunSouth Korea
Not Forgotten忘れられぬ人々Makoto ShinozakiJapan
The PaperDing JianchengChina
Pomildong BluesKim Hee-jinSouth Korea
SunflowerひまわりIsao YukisadaJapan
Twelve Nights十二夜Lam Oi-WahHong Kong
2001Flower Island꽃섬Song Il-gonSouth Korea
Blue Spring青い春Toshiaki ToyodaJapan
Conjugation动词变位Emily TangHong Kong
DejavuBiju ViswanathIndia
A Drowning Man溺れる人Naoki IchioJapan
Going Byاز کنار هم میگذریمIraj KarimiIran
MayaDigvijay SinghIndia
Seafood海鲜Zhu WenChina
Take Care of My Cat고양이를 부탁해Jeong Jae-eunSouth Korea
The Unfinished SongQateh-ye natamamMaziar MiriIran
Whispering SandsPasir BerbisikNan T. AchnasIndonesia
2002Jealousy Is My Middle Name질투는 나의 힘Park Chan-okSouth Korea
The Rite... A PassionThilaadanamK. N. T. SastryIndia
Ardor밀애Byun Young-jooSouth Korea
Border LineLee Sang-ilJapan
Brave 20鹹豆漿Wang Ming TaiTaiwan
Eliana, ElianaRiri RizaIndonesia
The Missing Gun寻枪Lu ChuanChina
Too Young to Die죽어도 좋아Park Jin-pyoSouth Korea
The Trigger扣板机Alex YangTaiwan
Woman of Water水の女Hidenori SugimoriJapan
Women's Prisonزندان زنانManijeh HekmatIran
2003The Missing不見Lee Kang-shengTaiwan
Tiny SnowflakesDanehaye rize barfAlireza AminiIran
15Royston TanSingapore
An Estranged Paradise陌生天堂Yang FudongChina
Dancing in the Dustرقص در غبارAsghar FarhadiIran
The Floating Landscape戀之風景Carol LaiHong Kong
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without WomenमातृभूमिManish JhaIndia
One Night Husbandคืนไร้เงาPimpaka TowiraThailand
The Only Sons山清水秀Xiao'er GanChina
OsamaاُسامهSiddiq BarmakAfghanistan, Iran
RiverリバーTakayuki SuzuiJapan
The Road Taken선택Hong Ki-seonSouth Korea
Uniform制服Diao YinanChina
2004This Charming Girl여자, 정혜Lee Yoon-kiSouth Korea
SanctuaryYuhang HoMalaysia
The Cat of HollywoodChun-Yue LamHong Kong
Dogs & Cats犬猫Nami IguchiJapan
Holiday Dreaming梦游夏威夷Fu-chun HsuTaiwan
The KillingDanavMakarand DeshpandeIndia
My Generation마이 제너레이션Noh Dong-seokSouth Korea
The RainmakerImpian KemarauRavi BharwaniIndonesia
So Cute귀여워Kim Soo-hyunSouth Korea
Soap OperaWuershanChina
Survive Style 5+Gen SekiguchiJapan
Waiting Alone独自等待Dayyan EngChina
2005Grain in Ear芒种Zhang LüChina, South Korea
The Silent Holy Stones静静的嘛呢石Wanma CaidanChina
Big Riverビッグ・リバーAtsushi FunahashiJapan
One Summer with You与你同在的夏天Xie DongshenHong Kong
The Peter Pan Formula피터팬의 공식Cho Chang-hoSouth Korea
Poet of the Wastesشاعر زباله‌هاMohammad AhmadiIran, Japan
Reaching SilenceNisshabdJahar KanungoIndia, France
The Shoe Fairy人鱼朵朵Robin LeeTaiwan, Hong Kong
Ssunday Seoul썬데이 서울Park Sung-hunSouth Korea
The Unforgiven용서받지 못한 자Yoon Jong-binSouth Korea
Writing on the EarthYadasht Bar ZaminAli Mohammad GhasemiIran
2006Betelnut槟榔Yang HengChina
Love Conquers AllTan Chui MuiMalaysia
DistanceYuanliWei TieChina
Driving with My Wife's Lover아내의 애인을 만나다Kim Tai-sikSouth Korea
Eternal Summer盛夏光年Leste ChenTaiwan
Just Like BeforeTulad ng DatiMike SandejasPhilippines
Luxury Car江城夏日Wang ChaoChina, France
The Railroad경의선Park Heung-sikSouth Korea
The Summer of Sticklebackハリヨの夏Mayu NakamuraJapan
The White Silk DressÁo Lụa Hà ĐôngLưu HuỳnhVietnam
Wool 100%ウール100%Mai TominagaJapan
2007Life TrackGwedoJin GuanghaoChina, South Korea
Flower in the Pocket口袋裏的花Liew Seng TatMalaysia
Wonderful Townเมืองเหงาซ่อนรักAditya AssaratThailand
Asyl: Park and Love Hotelパーク アンド ラブホテルIzuru KumasakaJapan
A Bao A QuNaoki SatoJapan
Endless NightJianlin PanChina
God Man Dog流浪神狗人Singing ChenTaiwan
Milky Way Liberation Front은하해방전선Yoon Seong-hoSouth Korea
My Song Is...나의 노래는Ahn Seul-giSouth Korea
The Red Awn红色康拜因Cai ShangjunChina
TribeTribuJim Meer LibiranPhilippines
2008Land of ScarecrowsGwedoRoh Gyeong-taeSouth Korea, France
Naked of Defenses無防備Masahide IchiiJapan
Er Dong二冬Yang JinChina
Members of the Funeral장례식의 멤버Baek Seung-binSouth Korea
100Chris MartinezPhilippines
Blind Pig Who Wants to FlyBabi Buta yang Ingin TerbangEdwinIndonesia
Empty Chairصندلی خالیSaman EsterekiIran
JalainurZha lai nuo erZhao YeChina
A Light in the FogCheraghi dar mehPanahbarkhoda RezaeeIran
A Moment in Juneณ ขณะรักO. NathaponThailand
Ocean of an Old ManRajesh SheraIndia
The PotKim Tae-gonSouth Korea
Routine Holiday黄金周Li HongqiChina
TurmoilАуреленSabit Kurmanbekov, Kanymbek KassymbekovKazakhstan
2009Kick Offشوێنێک بۆ یاریShawkat Amin KorkiIraq
I'm in Trouble!나는 곤경에 처했다!So Sang-minSouth Korea
SqualorAstigG.B. SampedroPhilippines
Dead Slowly慢性中毒Rita HuiHong Kong
Lan我们天上见Jiang WenliChina
Lost Paradise in Tokyoロストパラダイス・イン・トーキョーKazuya ShiraishiJapan
A Man Who Ate His CherriesMardi ke gilass hayash ra khordPayment HaghaniIran
Mundane Historyเจ้านกกระจอกAnocha SuwichakornpongThailand
My Daughter理发店的女儿Charlotte LimMalaysia
Paju파주Park Chan-okSouth Korea
True NoonQiyami rozNosir SaidovTajikistan
VihirUmesh Vinayak KulkarniIndia

2010s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
2010The Journals of Musan무산일기Park Jung-bumSouth Korea
Bleak Night파수꾼Yoon Sung-hyunSouth Korea
Ashamed창피해Kim Soo-hyeonSouth Korea
Eternityที่รักSivaroj KongsakulThailand
The Floating LivesCánh đồng bất tậnQuang Binh Nguyen PhanVietnam, Singapore
Lover's Discourse恋人絮语Derek Tsang, Jimmy WanHong Kong, China
Memories in MarchSanjoy NagIndia
My Spectacular Theatre盲人电影院Lu YangChina
The Old Donkey老驢頭Li RuijunChina
The Quarter of ScarecrowsGaraqi daholakanHassan-Ali MahmoudIraq
Sampaguita, National FlowerFrancis Xavier Eusebio PasionPhilippines
Strawberry Cliff贖命Chris ChowHong Kong, China, United States, France
Ways of the SeaHalawSheron DayocPhilippines
2011MourningSoogMorteza FarshbafIran
NiñoLoy ArcenasPhilippines
August Drizzleනිකිණි වැස්සAruna JayawardanaSri Lanka
Choked가시Kim Joong-hyunSouth Korea
Damn LifeダムライフHitoshi KitagawaJapan
Here...or There?Do Hay DaySiu PhamVietnam, Switzerland
I Carried You Homeปาดังเบซาร์Tongpong ChantarangkuThailand
Lost in Mountain空山軼Gao ZipengChina
The Mirror Never LiesLaut BercerminKamila AndiniIndonesia
The Passion of a Man Called Choe Che-u동학, 수운 최제우Stanley ParkSouth Korea
Return to BurmaMidi ZMyanmar, Taiwan
Starry Starry Night星空Tom Lin Shu-yuTaiwan, China, Hong Kong
Watch Indian CircusDekh Indian CircusMangesh HadawaleIndia
201236Nawapol ThamrongrattanaritThailand
KayanMaryam NajafiLebanon, Canada
FilmistaanNitin KakkarIndia
About 111 Girlsدرباره ی ۱۱۱ دخترNahid Ghobadi, Bijan ZmanpiraIraq
ApparitionAparisyonIsabel SandovalPhilippines
Fatal가시꽃Lee Don-kuSouth Korea
Together甜.秘密Hsu Chao-jenTaiwan
The Town of WhalesくじらのまちKeiko TsuruokaJapan
Touch of the Light逆光飛翔Chang Jung-chiTaiwan, Hong Kong, China
Your Time Is Up누구나 제 명에 죽고 싶다Kim Seung-hyunSouth Korea
2013Pascha파스카Ahn Seon-kyoungSouth Korea
Remote ControlАлсын УдирдлагаByamba SakhyaMongolia, Germany
TransitHannah EspiaPhilippines
10 Minutes10분Lee Yong-seungSouth Korea
Againゆるせない、逢いたいJunichi KanaiJapan
Concrete Cloudsภวังค์รักLee ChatametikoolThailand
The Isthmusที่ว่างระหว่างสมุทรSopawan Boonnimitra, Peerachai KerdsintThailand
SarikendMehdi ParizadIran
Steel Cold Winter소녀Choi Jin-sungSouth Korea
The Story of an Old WomanИстория одной старушкиAlexey GorlovKazakhstan
Toilet BluesDirmawan HattaIndonesia
WaterJalGirish MalikIndia
2014End of Winter철원기행Kim Dae-hwanSouth Korea
13۱۳Houman SeyyediIran
(Sex) Appeal寒蟬效應Wang Wei-mingTaiwan
Don't Say That WordガンバレとかうるせえTakuma SatoJapan
The Face of the AshShakhwan IdreesIraq
GhadiغديAmin DoraLebanon, Qatar
Jalal's Storyজালালের গল্পAbu Shahed EmonBangladesh
MariquinaMilo SoguecoPhilippines
Nezha少女哪吒Li XiaofengChina
SunrisePartho Sen-GuptaIndia, France
We Will Be OK그들이 죽었다Baek Jae-hoSouth Korea
What's the Time in Your World?در دنیای تو ساعت چند است؟Safi YazdanianIran
2015ImmortalممیروSeyed Hadi MohagheghIran
Walnut TreeZhangak talYerlan NurmukhambetovKazakhstan
Black Horse Memoriesخاطرات اسب سیاهShahram AlidiIran, Turkey
Communication & Lies소통과 거짓말Lee Seung-wonSouth Korea
Go Home Jihane ChouaibLebanon, France, Switzerland, Belgium
Night and Fog in Zona천당의 밤과 안개Jung Sung-ilSouth Korea
Radio SetRadiopettiHari ViswanathIndia
West North West西北西Takuro NakamuraJapan
2016The Donor捐赠者Zang XichuanChina
Knife in the Clear Water清水里的刀子Xuebo WangChina
PartingرفتنNavid MahmoudiIran, Afghanistan
A Billion Colour StoryPadmakumar NarasimhamurthyIndia
Burning Birdsදැවෙන විහඟුන්Sanjeewa PushpakumaraSri Lanka, France, Netherlands, Qatar
Her MotherHER MOTHER 娘を殺した死刑囚との対話Yoshinori SatoJapan
In Between Seasons환절기Lee Dong-eunSouth Korea
Lady of the LakeLoktak LairembeeHaobam Paban KumarIndia
Merry Christmas Mr. Mo메리 크리스마스 미스터 모Lim Dae-hyungSouth Korea
Someone to Talk to一句顶一万句Liu YulinChina, Hong Kong
White Ant白蟻─慾望謎網Chu Hsien-che
2017After My Death죄 많은 소녀Kim Ui-seokSouth Korea
Blockageسد معبرMohsen GharaeiIran
AjjiDevashish MakhijaIndia
AshwatthamaPushpendra SinghIndia, South Korea
End of Summer西小河的夏天Zhou QuanChina
How to Breathe Underwater물속에서 숨 쉬는 법Ko Hyun-seokSouth Korea
Last Child살아남은 아이Shin Dong-seokSouth Korea
The Last Verse最後的詩句Ying-Ting TsengTaiwan
One Night on the Wharf在码头Han DongChina
Somewhere Beyond the Mist藍天白雲Cheung King-waiHong Kong, China
2018Clean Up호흡Kwon Man-kiSouth Korea
Savage雪暴Cui Si WeiChina
AuroraBekzat PirmatovKyrgyzstan
Gold Carrierحمال طلاTouraj AslaniIran
His Lost Name夜明けNanako HiroseJapan
House of Hummingbird벌새Kim BoraSouth Korea
House of My Fathersනොමියෙන මතකයSuba SivakumaranSri Lanka
The Red PhallusTashi GyeltshenBhutan
Second Life선희와 슬기Park Young-juSouth Korea
Vanishing Days漫游Zhu XinChina
2019RòmTran Thanh HuyVietnam
Haifa Streetشارع حيفاMohanad HayalIraq
Among the Hillsدر میان تپه‌هاMohammadreza KeivanfarIran
Boluomi菠蘿蜜Kek Huat Lau, Vera ChenTaiwan
Diapasonشب اول 18 سالگیHamed TehraniIran
The Education에듀케이션Kim Duk-joongSouth Korea
John Denver TrendingArden Rod CondezPhilippines
Just Like ThatAise HeeKislay KislayIndia
Lucky Monster럭키 몬스터Bong Joon-youngSouth Korea
My Identity神様のいるところSae SuzukiJapan
An Old Lady69Lim Sun-aeSouth Korea
Over the Sea少年与海Aoqian SunChina
A Road to Spring通往春天的列车Li JiChina
Running to the SkyЖөө КүлүкMirlan AbdykalykovKyrgyzstan

2020s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
2020A Balance由宇子の天秤Yujiro HarumotoJapan
ThreeTpuRuslan PakKazakhstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
BilesuvarElvin AdigozelAzerbaijan, France
Butterfly on a Windowpaneऐना झ्यालको पुतलीSujit BidariNepal
ChnchikAram ShahbazyanArmenia, Germany, Netherlands
HaramiहरामीShyam MadirajuIndia, United States
A Leave휴가Lee Ran-heeSouth Korea
Money Has Four Legsခြေလေးချောင်Maung SunMyanmar
Snowball최선의 삶Lee Woo-jungSouth Korea
Summer Blur汉南夏日Han ShuaiChina
2021Farewell, My Hometown再见,乐园Wang Er ZhuoChina
The Apartment with Two Women같은 속옷을 입는 두 여자Kim Se-inSouth Korea
The Absent Directorدر نبود کارگردانArvand DashtarayIran
AsteroidسیارکMehdi Hosseinivand AalipourIran
House of TimeকালকোকখোRajdeep Paul, Sarmistha MaitiIndia
MemorylandMiền ký ứcKim Quy BuiVietnam, Germany
MissingさがすShinzo KatayamaJapan
PedroNatesh HedgeIndia
PhotocopierPenyalin CahayaWregas BhanutejaIndonesia
Red Pomegranateқызыл анарSharipa UrazbayevaKazakhstan
Seire세이레Kang ParkSouth Korea
2022A Wild Roomer괴인Lee Jeong-hongSouth Korea
ShivammaJaishankar AryarIndia
Ajoomma아줌마He ShumingSingapore, South Korea
Blue Againบลู อะเกนThapanee LoosuwanThailand
Long Live Hell지옥만세Im Oh-jeongSouth Korea
Memento Mori: EarthMemento Mori: ĐấtMarcus Mạnh Cường VũVietnam
No EndBi payanNader SaeivarIran
A Place of SilenceSam QuahMalaysia
A Thousand and One Nights千夜、一夜Nao KubotaJapan
The Winter WithinMaaghAamir BashirIndia
2023
The WrestlerIqbal ChowdhuryBangladesh
September 1923福田村事件Tatsuya MoriJapan
After a FeverAkira YamamotoJapan
Borrowed TimeChoi JiChina
Heritage부모 바보Lee Jong-sooSouth Korea
Now, OasisChia Chee SumMalaysia
Solids by the Seashoreทะเลของฉันมีคลื่นเล็กน้อยถึงปานกลางPatiparn BoontarigThailand
SparkRajesh ZalaIndia
StrangerAgantukBiplop SarkarBangladesh
That Summer Lie그 여름날의 거짓말Son Hyeon-rokSouth Korea

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Busan Film Festival Unveils Diverse Competition Lineup. The Hollywood Reporter. September 5, 2022. September 12, 2023. Soomee. Park.
  2. Web site: Jurors for BIFF's New Currents Award hope to discover revolutionary work. The Korea Herald. October 7, 2022. September 10, 2023. Seung-hyun. Song.
  3. Web site: 27th Busan International Film Festival Announces Jury Members for New Currents and Kim Jiseok Awards. Haps Korea. August 25, 2022. September 12, 2023.