Busan 2025: The Verdict
Amid widespread concern over the health of the Korean film industry, the Busan International Film Festival celebrated its 30th edition hosting domestic films – and audiences – marked by their variety and vitality.
Busan 2025
Busan 2025: The Awards
In ‘Gloaming in Luomu’, Korean-Chinese filmmaker Zhang Lu offers his most radical reworking of the theme of searching for a long-vanished soulmate, in a film that unfolds like a delirious dream.
Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted
South Korean rom-com royalty Bae Suzy and The Squid Game star Lee Jin-wook descend on Busan with the slick, subdued and fastidiously chaste ‘Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted’.
Kok Kok Kokoook
Scathing social commentary meets brash body horror in the unclassifiable and utterly compelling ‘Kok Kok Kokoook’, Maharshi Tuhin Kashyap’s first feature.
Gloaming in Luomu
Zhang Lu conjures an enigmatic, engaging and visually enchanting cinematic experience with ‘Gloaming in Luomu’.
Spying Stars
Sri Lankan cineaste Vimukthi Jayasundara re-emerges from his decade-long feature-filmmaking hiatus with ‘Spying Stars’, a moving story about death and mourning packaged as an audacious sci-fi fantasy.
By Another Name
A dying filmmaker struggles to bring one final project to fruition and his wife attempts to realise this last wish in “By Another Name”, Korean indie filmmaker Lee Jea-han’s uneventful entry to Busan’s new competition.
A dying filmmaker struggles to bring one final project to fruition and his wife attempts to realise this last wish in “By Another Name”, Korean indie filmmaker Lee Jea-han’s plain and uneventful entry to Busan International Film Festival’s newly minted main competition.
Shape of Momo
Indian filmmaker Tribeny Rai makes back-to-back festival bows at Busan and San Sebastian with ‘Shape of Momo’, a thoughtful family drama about an affluent, cosmopolitan woman’s rebellion against the gender- and class-based schisms in her picturesque Himalayan hometown.
Without Permission
A sense of déja vu permeates the Busan competition entry ‘Without Permission’, British-Iranian Hassan Nazer’s awkwardly dated tribute to the subversive spirit of Iran’s filmmakers.
Funky Freaky Freaks
‘Funky Freaky Freaks’ puts troubled Korean youth on the big screen in a manner that advertises director Han Chang-lok’s eye for fine performances and unusual visuals.
The Mutation
Korean cineaste Shin Su-won’s first feature in three years, ‘The Mutation’ is a lyrical and heartfelt odd-couple road movie about bereavement, bigotry and self-belief.
Leave the Cat Alone
With his first feature ‘Leave the Cat Alone’ competing in Busan, Japanese filmmaker Daisuke Shigaya offers a sensitive and subdued exploration into the loves and hopes of some artistic millennials.
En Route To
Yoo Jaein’s graduation film, ‘En Route To’, is both a clear-eyed drama about teenage pregnancy and a humorous, touching tale of female friendship.
Jafar Panahi Receives Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at Busan
Iranian cineaste Jafar Panahi talks about his 30-year relationship with BIFF and calls for a change in the Academy Awards’ submission rules.
Another Birth
New York-based Tajik-American filmmaker Isabelle Kalandar bows in competition at Busan with ‘Another Birth’, a mesmerising rite-of-passage drama bolstered by poetry, picturesque landscapes and a powerful turn from its child actor.
Baka’s Identity
Koto Nagata’s surprisingly subtle and melancholy suspense thriller ‘Baka’s Identity’ about three Japanese scammers vaunts nuanced performances but gets derailed by flashbacks.
Jung Hanseok Takes Charge at Busan; Fest Pivots to Competition
Busan International Film Festival enters a new era with a dedicated competition section and the appointment of a new festival director eager to highlight BIFF’s Asian focus.