Busan is rounding out its independent film slate ahead of a bigger announcement next week. The Busan International Film Festival unveiled 23 films for its Vision Korea and Vision Asia sections on Monday, splitting the lineup evenly between 12 Korean titles and 11 from elsewhere in Asia as it heads toward its 31st edition this October.
The festival will reveal its full official selection, including the closely watched main competition slate, at a press conference in Seoul on September 1. This year’s edition runs October 6 to 15 at the Busan Cinema Center and other venues across the port city.
The Vision program traces back to Korean Cinema Today – Vision, a strand once reserved for emerging Korean directors. Festival organizers split it into two tracks last year and opened the Asia side to filmmakers from across the region, a move that accompanied Busan’s launch of its first formal competition section. The expanded format now welcomes mid-career directors alongside first-timers, and Vision-Asia carries 10 awards this year.
Filipino director Arvin Belarmino contributes Ria, a folk-punk drama following a musician battling to hold onto her home and her music. Mongolian filmmaker Sakhya Byamba, who took Busan’s New Currents Award in 2013 for Remote Control, returns with Zogsool, a satire set at a remote gas station during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thai actress Inthira Charoenpura steps behind the camera for the first time with Bua, co-directed alongside newcomer Phensiri Klangsurin.
Korean entries lean on filmmakers with prior festival recognition. Kim Miyoung, whose A Lonely Island in the Distant Sea won a DGK Megabox Award in 2023, brings Some Detective, while Sohn Hyun-lok follows up his Fipresci Prize-winning debut That Summer’s Lie with The Birds, centered on a series of student accidents. Jang Woojin, previously honored at both Busan and Berlin, explores love and chance in Cosmic Trace.
Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night, a Seoul-set romance following up his 2016 film The Table, opens the festival October 6, with Pachinko actress Kim Minha hosting solo. Michelle Yeoh will receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year honor, Hong Kong director Ann Hui the Chanel-backed Camellia Award, and BIFF founder Kim Dong-ho the Korean Cinema Award.
