Busan Film Festival Unveils Inaugural Competition Line-Up, Including Ten World Premieres
Written by admin on August 26, 2025
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival has unveiled the 14 titles selected for its inaugural competition section, ten of which are world premieres.
The world premieres include four titles from Korea and two from Japan, along with Chinese director Zhang Lu’s Gloaming In Luomu; Sri Lankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara’s sci-fi feature Spying Stars, Iranian filmmaker Hassan Nazer’s Without Permission and Isabelle Kalandar’s Another Birth, co-produced by Tajikistan, US and Qatar (see full line-up below).
The four films in competition that are not world premieres – Shu Qi’s Girl, Tsou Shih-ching’s Left-Handed Girl, Bi Gan’s Resurrection and Sho Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers – all premiered in either Cannes, Locarno or Venice, with the latter film taking the Golden Leopard in Locarno.
BIFF is undergoing a major revamp this year, the festival’s 30th edition and the first under new festival director Jung Hanseok, including the launch of the competition section; a restructured programming team; expansion of the Vision section to encompass Asian cinema from beyond Korea; and an overall increase in the festival’s official selection titles.
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In total, the festival will screen 241 films from 64 countries (compared to 224 from 63 countries in 2024), including 90 world premieres. As previously announced, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice has been selected as the opening film fresh from its premiere in Venice competition.
Four films will screen in Gala Presentations – Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, Byun Sung-hyun’s Good News, Jafar Panahi’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident and Lee Sang-il’s Cannes Directors Fortnight title and recent Japanese box office hit Kokuho.
The new Vision – Asia section, focusing on independent features, will screen 11 world premieres, including Tracy Choi’s Girlfriends, Ho Wi Ding’s Mothernet, actor Reza Rahadian’s directorial debut On Your Lap, Anshul Chauhan’s Tiger and Kyrgyz feature Kurak, from Erke Dzhumakmatova and Emil Atageldiev.
Also as previously announced, Panahi is the recipient of this year’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year. This year’s Korean Cinema Award will be presented to director Chung Jiyoung. Taiwan’s Sylvia Chang will be presented with the Camellia Award, while Marco Bellochio will receive the BIFF Cinema Master Honorary Award.
Special Programs include ‘Defining Moments Of Asian Cinema’, in which nine master filmmakers and actors will introduce ten landmark works to audiences; retrospectives of the work of Italian director Marco Bellocchio and French actress and director Juliette Binoche; ‘A Little History Of Our Own, Take Care Of Our Future’, featuring five emerging Korean female filmmakers each selecting a classic Korean film that has influenced their vision; and ‘Carte Blanche’ inviting leading figures from cinema and culture to present a favourite film and engage in discussion with the audience.
BIFF is taking place September 17-26 across seven theatres and 31 screens in the city of Busan. Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), which will host a new initiative entitled ‘The A’ designed to lay the foundation for sustainable growth in the pan-Asian content industries, is taking place September 20-23.
BIFF 2025 COMPETITION TITLES:
Another Birth, dir: Isabelle Kalandar (Tajikistan, US, Qatar) WP
Baka’s Identity, dir: Koto Nagata (Japan) WP
By Another Name, dir: Lee Jeahan (Korea) WP
En Route To, dir: Yoo Jaein (Korea) WP
Funky Freaky Freaks, dir: Han Chang-lok (Korea) WP
Girl, dir: Shu Qi (Taiwan)
Gloaming In Luomu, dir: Zhang Lu (China) WP
Leave The Cat Alone, dir: Shigaya Daisuke (Japan) WP
Left-Handed Girl, dir: Tsou Shih-ching (Taiwan, France, US, UK)
Resurrection, dir: Bi Gan (China, France)
Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club For The Brokenhearted, dir: Lim Sun-ae (Korea) WP
Spying Stars, dir: Vimukthi Jayasundara (France, Sri Lanka, India) WP
Two Seasons, Two Strangers, dir: Sho Miyake (Japan)
Without Permission, dir: Hassan Nazer (Iran, UK) WP
