{"id":2029369,"date":"2025-09-17T17:23:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2029369"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:23:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:23:31","slug":"star-studded-busan-international-film-festival-opens-amid-industry-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/star-studded-busan-international-film-festival-opens-amid-industry-woes\/","title":{"rendered":"Star-studded Busan International Film Festival opens amid industry woes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"story_dl\">BUSAN, South Korea, Sept. 17 (UPI) &#8212;<\/span> As South Korea&#8217;s domestic film industry struggles through its most challenging year since the pandemic, the 30th Busan International Film Festival struck a note of resilience Wednesday with a star-studded opening ceremony.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Asia&#8217;s largest film festival runs through Sep. 26 and features 241 official entries from 64 countries, including 90 world premieres.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Star power has been turned up this year, with top Korean actor Lee Byung-hun hosting the opening ceremony and auteur Park Chan-wook&#8217;s <i>No Other Choice<\/i> serving as the festival&#8217;s opening film. Park&#8217;s black comedy has been a standout on the festival circuit, winning plaudits at Venice and Toronto in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Wednesday night&#8217;s ceremony featured red carpet appearances by luminaries such as Guillermo del Toro, Blackpink&#8217;s Lisa and director Maggie Kang of <i>KPop Demon Hunters<\/i> fame. Iran&#8217;s Jafar Panahi, who won the Palme d&#8217;Or at this year&#8217;s Cannes, received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The glittering guest list for the festival includes directors Bong Joon-ho, Jia Zhangke, Sean Baker and Michael Mann alongside performers Juliette Binoche, Milla Jovovich and Tony Leung.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>The Busan International Film Festival&#8217;s opening ceremony welcomed thousands of fans and featured a star-studded parade of guests on the red carpet. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While BIFF has traditionally focused on emerging talents, the 30th edition aims to enhance the festival&#8217;s global standing with a new full-fledged competition section. Fourteen Asian films will be presented across five categories, with South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin serving as the jury president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Entries include Yoo Jae-in&#8217;s <i>En Route To<\/i>, Japanese director Sho Miyake&#8217;s <i>Two Seasons, Two Strangers<\/i>, Taiwanese actress and director Shu Qi&#8217;s <i>Girl <\/i>and Chinese director Zhang Lu&#8217;s <i>Gloaming in Luomu<\/i>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Actor Lee Byung-hun, who stars in the festival's opening film, &quot;No Other Choice,&quot; hosted BIFF's opening ceremony Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/uiay8MOFvSyyiY8TQVY8vQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/united_press_international_articles_356\/3c9d913b706893ea055c99c24c7a5ebc\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Actor Lee Byung-hun, who stars in the festival&#8217;s opening film, &#8220;No Other Choice,&#8221; hosted BIFF&#8217;s opening ceremony Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A renewed emphasis on public-friendly events will bring a special sing-along screening of the blockbuster Netflix animated film <i>KPop Demon Hunters<\/i>, with director Maggie Kang in attendance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">BIFF&#8217;s director, Jung Han-seok, described this year&#8217;s lineup as &#8220;monumental, the largest and finest in the festival&#8217;s history&#8221; during a press conference for the festival on Aug. 26.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Director Guillermo del Toro arrives on the red carpet for the BIFF opening ceremony. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eQ.OIIYNevt36AXtsG2bDA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/united_press_international_articles_356\/88646357a0fdc182fd4bb554d0de8a2b\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Director Guillermo del Toro arrives on the red carpet for the BIFF opening ceremony. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;One of our goals this year is overcoming the crisis in Korean cinema and taking another huge leap,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The South Korean film industry could certainly use a boost after suffering through one of its worst years at the box office in recent memory. According to the Korean Film Council, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kofic.or.kr\/kofic\/business\/board\/selectBoardList.do?boardNumber=2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:attendance was down;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">attendance was down<\/a> by 32.5% over the first half of the year, as streaming platforms kept audiences at home and the number of theatrical releases dwindled.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Movie fans pose at a photo wall after buying tickets at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/x9b28iqMK0oq_ghJ6Oc2CQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/united_press_international_articles_356\/d62626de9e6b8a0ae8262f6f417f6b29\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Movie fans pose at a photo wall after buying tickets at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The last few months have shown signs of life, however, buoyed by summer blockbusters such as the Korean comedy <i>My Daughter is a Zombie<\/i>. A slate of upcoming releases, including Park Chan-wook&#8217;s <i>No Other Choice<\/i>, is giving industry insiders a measured dose of optimism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The film industry is having a very tough time in Korea,&#8221; Park said during a press conference for his festival opening film on Wednesday. &#8220;But I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ll be staying in this status quo forever. I hope my film will play a little role in the recovery.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Festival-goers walk past movie posters outside the Busan Cinema Center on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/4M5PwxICnBDg9lg6fpaf0A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/united_press_international_articles_356\/78a5dac503ca53baeb5107fd4189bf5a\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Festival-goers walk past movie posters outside the Busan Cinema Center on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other features during this year&#8217;s BIFF include its Special Program in Focus section, which brings retrospectives honoring Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio and French actress Juliette Binoche.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the Korean Cinema Today section, highly anticipated films such as <i>Audition 109<\/i> by Jung Woo and Oh Seong-ho, <i>The Great Flood <\/i>by Kim Byung-woo and <i>Boss <\/i>by Ra Hee-chan will be making their world premieres. The Vision section, which focuses on emerging filmmakers, has expanded to feature 12 works from Korea and 11 from across Asia.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Fans line up to buy tickets for screenings at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eeQvC4Ll4vnkEGEvAX6tyA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/united_press_international_articles_356\/281b88ea7c7b6ad8cd71be8161a09190\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Fans line up to buy tickets for screenings at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca\/UPI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Competition winners will be announced at the closing ceremony, hosted by actress Claudia Kim, on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BUSAN, South Korea, Sept. 17 (UPI) &#8212; As South Korea&#8217;s domestic film industry struggles through its most challenging year since the pandemic, the 30th Busan International Film Festival struck a note of resilience Wednesday with a star-studded opening ceremony. Asia&#8217;s largest film festival runs through Sep. 26 and features 241 official entries from 64 countries, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2029370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[347666,355972,317163,345415,374109,374110,374108,374107,343480,306168,343356],"class_list":["post-2029369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-biff","tag-busan","tag-film-festival","tag-film-industry","tag-juliette-binoche","tag-korean-film-council","tag-lee-byung-hun","tag-opening-ceremony","tag-park-chan-wook","tag-south-korea","tag-world-premieres"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Star-studded-Busan-International-Film-Festival-opens-amid-industry-woes.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2029369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2029369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2029369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}