The Busan International Film Festival is the largest film festival in Asia and one of the most important in the world. This year, it will be celebrating its 26th anniversary.
The busan international film festival winners 2023 are films that have been selected to be shown at the 26th Busan International Film Festival.
We continue our list of films to see at the 26th Busan International Film Festival, which will take place in Busan, Korea from October 6th to 15th, 2023.
A Selection of Shorts:
Park Kang’s Seire – Korea | 2023 – 102 minutes New Currents | World Premieres is a section inside the New Currents section of the website.
Seire is a twenty-one-day period during which individuals are expected to be extra cautious in their actions and outsiders are not permitted to visit in order to safeguard a newborn infant from ill luck. Seire, a film, is based on this traditional belief. Woojin, who has just become the father of a newborn infant, learns that his ex-girlfriend Seyoung has died. Without informing his wife, he attends her burial and meets Yeyoung, Seoyung’s twin sister. Woojin and his family suffer a sequence of terrible catastrophes as a result of this meeting. Seire is a unique horror film. It deftly adapts the classic horror movie trope while also modernizing the dread that comes with violating folk beliefs’ taboos, blurring the line between truth and imagination and ominously crossing it with daring camera movements and editing. (BIFF 2023 – JUNG Hanseok)
Dates: Sunday, October 10th, 2023 | 15:30 pm | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 Monday, October 11th, 2023 | 20:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 4 Tuesday, October 12th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 4 | 12:30 p.m.
Taste by Le Bao | 2023 – 98 minutes | France, Singapore, Vietnam A Window on Asian Cinema is a section of the exhibition.
Bassley, a professional football player from Nigeria, has gone all the way to Vietnam. He gets hurt one day and is kicked from the squad as a consequence. He is unable to tell his family the truth since he must continue to support them. He works at a tiny hair shop and eventually becomes one of the city’s low-wage workers. One of his new pals spends her days making hot air balloons, despite never having been on one. They’re all weary of working long hours for whatever pay they can get. They decide to live together in an ancient home one day. They bathe themselves, make meals, dine together, and sleep together in the most natural manner possible. They seemed to have their own little heaven at first. However, when envy and pettiness threaten their ideal connection, tiny cracks appear. Director Le Bao, who studied cinema on his own in Vietnam without receiving official schooling, has produced a masterwork in which he boldly depicts authentically drawn, contemporary humans on the silver screen. (BIFF 2023 – PARK SUNGHO)
* This film won the Special Jury Prize in the Encounters Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Dates: Thursday, October 7th, 2023 | 15:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 7 Friday, October 8, 2023 | 20:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 2 Wednesday, October 13th, 2023 | 17:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 7
Kim Se-The in’s Apartment with Two Women – Korea | 2023 – 140 minutes New Currents | World Premieres is a section inside the New Currents section of the website.
Sookyung and her daughter Yijung share a home. They don’t get along, though. Sookyung is irritable, while Yijung is sluggish and passive. Sookyung runs over Yijung after a quarrel one day, and Yijung believes she did it on purpose. Their squabble eventually leads to a legal battle. The struggle between a mother and her daughter is typical, but this picture elevates it by depicting their ferocious battle for an exceptionally long period, a duration that seems emotionally comprehensible. With its genuine characters, excellent performances, dynamic story, surprising comedy, harp details, urgent questions, and sometimes uncomfortable solutions, The Apartment with Two Women captivates viewers. What is the definition of a family? With all of its heart, the film explores this lengthy and difficult issue. (BIFF 2023 – JUNG Hanseok)
Dates: Sunday, October 10th, 2023 | 19:00 pm | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 Monday, October 11th, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. | Lotte Cinema Centum City 3 Tuesday, October 12th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 4 | 19:00 pm
Lee Joonik’s The Book of Fish – Korea | 2023 – 126 minutes Panorama
The process of Jeong Yakjeon (Sul Kyung-gu) and fisherman Changdae (Byun John) communicating beyond their social position is shown in The Book of Fish. In 1814, on Heuksando Island, an exile location, Jeong Yakjeon published ‘The Book of Fish,’ a lexicon of marine life. Director Lee Joonik turned this project into a human tale by peeling back the layers of history with this one book, which encapsulates the essence of practical study and affection for the people of the period. In The Book of Fish, there are no dramatic events or startling circumstances; instead, the narrative is built on a deep and lovely friendship. Jeong Yakjeon performs studies that will benefit people with the assistance of Changdae, but Changdae, who aspires to be a Neo-Confucian, gets irritated when he sees Jeong Yakjeon. Nonetheless, the two guys, who are of different ages, social positions, and ideologies, are progressively reincarnated as each other’s meanings. The journey to the one-line statement, ′When I know my buddy profoundly, I am deepened,′ is as gorgeous as the scenery. (BIFF 2023 – SONG Kyung-won)
Dates: Thursday, October 7th, 2023 | 19:00 pm | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque Friday, October 8, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. | Lotte Cinema Daeyoung 1
Source: hancinema.netLee Young-The ah’s Cave – Korea | 2023 – 112 minutes Panorama | World Premiere Section
Minhee (Yoo Da-in) moves to Jeju Island to live in her spouse’s homeland when her husband dies unexpectedly. It’s a place where she can meet new people and share her memories of her spouse and the home he loved. She starts to feel at ease there as a writer and lifeguard until she discovers about the history of her next-door neighbor, Mokha (Cho Eunji). She believes they have the potential to be excellent friends at first. However, there is a backstory behind their connection. The film starts with a peaceful sadness, but as the narrative progresses, it exposes unexpected events. The Cave becomes filled with both sorrow and bright moments as a result of the actors’ experienced performances that reveal this tragic, surprising, and joyful tale. (BIFF 2023 – HONG Eunmi)
Dates of screening: Friday, October 8, 2023 | Lotte Cinema Centum City 6 | 16:30 pm Saturday, October 9th, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. | Lotte Cinema Centum City 6 Wednesday, October 13th, 2023 | Lotte Cinema Centum City 5 | 14:00 pm
Park Ri-The woong’s Girl on a Bulldozer – Korea | 2023 – 113 minutes Panorama | World Premiere
Haeyoung (Kim Hyeyoon) is a dejected young lady. Her arms are covered with tattoos. She speaks in obscene terms and is often aggressive. She’s a nightmare to deal with. She was raised by her father (Park Hyukkwon), who owns a Chinese restaurant, and a younger brother. Her father suffers a strange accident one day, and she finds herself in a position of responsibility. She is now not only the leader of the home, responsible for her younger sister, but also an investigator charged with uncovering the truth behind the disaster, as well as a warrior against the evils of the world. A detective (YeSung) attempts to assist her, but her life is everything from simple or orderly. She continues to live her life in the same manner. Her bravery, on the other hand, adds honesty and innocence to the narrative, which ultimately fills the film with poignant moments. What skills will she need to operate a bulldozer? (BIFF 2023 – JUNG Hanseok)
* The 2014 ACF Script Development Fund was awarded to this film.
Dates: Friday, October 8, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. | Lotte Cinema Centum City 3 Saturday, October 9th, 2023 | Lott Cinema Centum City 6 | 13:30 pm Wednesday, October 13th, 2023 | 15:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 10
All others must pay cash for my vengeance. by Edwin – 2023 – 115 minutes – Section: A Window on Asian Cinema – Indonesia, Singapore, Germany
Ajo, a ruthless mobster who isn’t scared of death, has a secret he doesn’t want anybody to know: he’s powerless. This symptom becomes a cause of rage for him, and it ultimately leads to violence towards others around him. While working on a contract job, he meets Iteung, a strong lady who becomes his adversary, and eventually falls in love with her. She finds him appealing as well, despite the fact that they both suffered from childhood trauma. Although the two marry shortly after, their turbulent pasts continue to plague them and put a pall over their bliss. The film was highly polished by famous filmmaker Edwin and is based on the book of the same name by Eka Kurniawan, regarded as “the Quentin Tarantino of Indonesian literature.” At the Locarno Film Festival, it was awarded the Golden Leopard. It’s easy to get caught up in the film’s bittersweet appeal, squeezing pus from wounds, thanks to the fast-paced narrative, flashbacks, and dark humor. (BIFF 2023 – PARK SUNGHO)
* At the Locarno International Film Festival, this film was awarded the Golden Leopard, as well as the 2016 APM Project.
Dates of screening: Friday, October 8, 2023 | 19:30 pm | Sohyang Theater Centum City Saturday, October 9th, 2023 | Lotte Cinema Centum City 2 | 9:00 a.m. Sunday, October 10th, 2023 | 20:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 7
What she enjoys… 2023 – 122 minutes | by Kusano Shogo – Japan Open Cinema | World Premieres is a section of the festival.
What She Likes…, a successful webnovel that was turned into a TV drama and a film, was also published in Korea as What She Likes Are Homosexuals, Not Me. Jun, a high school student, is a hidden homosexual who is dating an older guy. Sae, a student who is unaware of his secret, expresses an interest in him. Jun meets into Sae at the bookshop one day and discovers that she likes yaoi manga. Sae has even greater emotions for Jun now that he knows her secret and professes her love for him. Jun, flustered, agrees to date Sae, and the situation takes an unexpected turn. Rather than the lovely romance that one would expect from a school drama with attractive guys and girls, the film raises important issues regarding homosexuality. Instead of romance, the protagonists overcome hardship to form a new level of friendship based on a profound knowledge of one another. (BIFF 2023 – NAM Dong-chul)
Dates: Friday, October 8, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. | Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque Wednesday, October 13th, 2023 | 20:00 pm | Busan Cinema Center BIFF Theater
Section: Gala Presentation by Hamaguchi Ryusuke – Japan | 2023 – 122 minutes Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy by Hamaguchi Ryusuke – Japan | 2023 – 122 minutes
Eric Rohmer, according to Hamaguchi Ryusuke, was his influence for Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. He stated he wanted to concentrate on coincidences, something Eric Rohmer often included in his films, and that he like short films since they assist prepare for longer films while also allowing him to develop creative ideas. A triptych of films on coincidences, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is a triptych of shorts about coincidences. Each vignette is self-contained, yet the three films are connected thematically. At times, coincidences lead to terribly terrible occurrences, and at other times, they lead to happenings that make you smile. Hamaguchi portrays the world as it is revealed via coincidences in his own distinct manner. This film contains the first three of his seven coincidence tales. Despite its modest budget, Hamaguchi’s picture has earned him a household figure in modern Japanese cinema. (BIFF 2023 – NAM Dong-chul)
* At the Berlin International Picture Festival, this film won the Grand Jury Prize.
Dates: Thursday, October 7th, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. | Busan Cinema Center Cinema 1 Saturday, October 9th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 6 | 14:00 pm Sunday, October 10th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 6 | 9:00 a.m.
Neang Kavich’s White Building – Cambodia, France, China, Qatar | 2023 – 91 minutes Section: Asian Cinema
The White Building was previously seen as a symbol of Phnom Penh’s successful urbanization and modernisation. Residents are departing one by one as the building deteriorates. As the destruction and relocation grow more near, the tensions between them are increasing. The plot revolves on Samnang, a young guy, and his father. Samnang wishes to earn a livelihood as a hip-hop dancer, but she must accept the harsh truth that this is impossible. Meanwhile, his father makes futile attempts to negotiate on behalf of the people with the authorities. Director Kavich Neang based on his personal experiences in creating and directing this piece as a former tenant (he was born and raised in this unique building). Last Night I Saw You Smiling (2019), his last documentary, caught his neighbors in a loving light, while White Building digs further into the interior atmosphere of the family and neighborhood. White Building received the CJ Entertainment Award and the Arte Award at the 2016 Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market, and it is the first Cambodian film to be accepted to Venice Orizzonti. (BIFF 2023 – BOO Kyunghwan)
* At the Venice International Film Festival, the film won the Orrizzonti Award for Best Actor and the 2016 APM Project.
Dates of screening: Wednesday, October 13th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 1 | 19:00 pm Thursday, October 14th, 2023 | CGV Centum City 6 | 20:30 pm
Section: A Window on Asian Cinema Yuni by Kamila Andini – Indonesia, Singapore | 2023 – 96 minutes
Yuni, a high school student, has a purple obsession. Her family, which lives in the countryside, is not wealthy, so she understands the importance of obtaining a scholarship to continue doing what she loves – studying at a university. She is not, however, a flawless person. She would take little items if they are purple, and she has enlisted the help of a buddy to compose poems for her in order to boost her grades in literature, her one weak subject. Despite this, her peers and even other men see her as attractive and intelligent. She is now unable to determine what she really desires. Bad news begins to spread in the tiny community as she continues to refuse offers. Yuni, directed by Kamila Andini, is a charming picture on the surface, but it’s the critical point—the perspective beyond the conservatism and sexism—that elevates it to masterpiece status. (BIFF 2023 – PARK SUNGHO)
* At the Toronto International Film Festival, this film was awarded the Platform Prize.
Dates of screening: Friday, October 8, 2023 | Lotte Cinema Centum City 7 | 15:00 pm Sunday, October 10th, 2023 | 17:00 pm | Sohyang Theater Centum City Thursday, October 14th, 2023 | 20:00 pm | Lotte Cinema Centum City 9
The documentary film festivals 2023 is a film festival that takes place in Busan, Korea. It was established in 1996 and is one of the most important film events in Asia.
