Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho and his 'Parasite' favorite Park So-dam were on hand for the festival's opening ceremony, which featured Korea's first full-scale red carpet since the start of the pandemic.
“I was really homesick and missed this moment,” said veteran Korean actor Choi Min-shik , lead of the opening film, on opening night. “What more can I say?”was included in the selection of the aborted 2020 Cannes Film Festival and had to wait until this moment in Busan to finally premiere.
On opening night, the festival gave its Asian Filmmaker of the Year award to director Im Kwon-taek , one of Korea’s most renowned and prolific directors. The prize is presented each year to an Asian film artist or organization that has made significant contribution to Asian film industry and culture. Director Im Sang-soo presented the filmmaker with his trophy, while Bong was on hand to give him a bouquet of flowers.
“I made my debut film in the early ’60s and shot over 100 films so far,” said Im from the stage. “But I still haven’t made a film that feels complete. Now that I’m older, I think that there might not be an opportunity for me to shoot such a film. Still, I am so happy that I have lived my life making movies that I have loved so much.”
This year’s Busan festival will screen 223 films, about 70 percent of the usual program from the pre-pandemic period. But the event has tried to add festive elements. Aside from a red carpet ceremony, there will be “Open Talk” events between directors and audiences, a hand printing ceremony and a Q&A session with actors. As a satellite event, the organizers have also installed screens in neighborhoods throughout the city to screens festival titles for the movie-loving public.
It’s also evident that Busan is trying to embrace the industry’s expanding platforms and balance its weight between arthouse films and commercial content. This year, the festival added a new program called “On Screen,” which features new drama series from streaming platforms such as
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