A festival for world cineastes will soon raise its curtains in Busan.

The 21st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) launches this year on Oct. 6, with screenings at five venues across the port city. Over the 10-day festival, the Busan Cinema Center, CGV Centum City, Lotte Cinema Centum City, Megabox Haeundae and Sohyang Theater Centum City will screen 300 films from 69 different countries.

The festival opens this year with "A Quiet Dream" by Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu. Shot entirely in black and white, the story centers on a young woman who runs a small bar and three men that try to win her affections, with actress Han Ye-ri taking the lead role. Her three suitors are played by directors Yang Ik-june of "Breathless" (2008), Yoon Jong-bin of "The Unforgiven" (2005) and Park Jung-bum of "The Journals of Musan" (2010), with effortless charm and personality.





The closing film is "The Dark Wind" by Iraqi director Hussein Hassan. A film about the collision of conflicting religious beliefs, it follows the tragic story of a woman from the Kurdish Yazidi community who falls victim to crimes of war and terror in northern Iraq.

This year's Gala Presentation, showcasing recent hits by contemporary filmmakers, features four films, each in its own distinct genre. Audiences can look forward to: "Your Name," an animated film by Japanese director Shinkai Makoto; "Rage," a human drama by Korean-Japanese director Lee Sang-il; "Bleed for This," a boxing film by U.S. director Ben Younger; and, "Daguerrotype," a horror film by Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi.






The New Currents program, which introduces works by up-and-coming filmmakers, showcases 11 films from 10 countries. The list includes "A Billion Color Story" by Indian director Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy and "White Ant" by Taiwanese director Chu Hsien-Che.

Korean Cinema Today features the latest works by some of the most prominent Korean filmmakers. This year, the program includes "The Net" by Kim Ki-duk, "The Handmaiden" by Park Chan-wook, as well as "Autumn, Autumn" by Jang Woojin.

The World Cinema program, which spotlights the past year's trends in international filmmaking, offers 42 titles this year. The festival also has a retrospective dedicated to the late Abbas Kiarostami, an Iranian director who passed away in July. Another highlight is a special program featuring 14 films from Colombia.






Tickets for screenings at the BIFF opening and closing ceremonies will go on sale on Sept. 27. Ticketing for all other screenings will begin on Sept. 29.

Reservations for the opening and closing ceremonies must be made online at the BIFF website. Bookings for all other screenings can be made online, or at any Busan Bank branch or ATM, or via phone banking. Tickets can be purchased online at the BIFF website after a simple registration process.

More information on the 21st Busan International Film Festival can be found at the official website below.
www.biff.kr

By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: BIFF
hlee10@korea.kr