Jung Hanseok (third from left), director of the Busan International Film Festival, on Aug. 26 gives a welcoming speech at a news conference held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul's Jung-gu District.

By Xu Aiying
Photos = Busan International Film Festival

Marking its third decade, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) this year boasts its largest and most revolutionary lineup of works.

The festival's executive committee on Aug. 26 gave a news conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul's Jung-gu District to announce this year's opening film, invited works and major changes to the event's format.

Scheduled from Sept. 17-26 on 31 screens at seven theaters in the nation's No. 2 city including Busan Cinema Center, BIFF will screen 241 officially invited works from 64 countries. If those in the affiliate program Community BIFF are included, the figure rises to 328.

Director Park Chan-wook's black comedy "No Other Choice" is the opening work at this year's Busan International Film Festival (Sept. 17-26).

"No Other Choice," the festival's opening work by director Park Chan-wook, is based on the novel "The Ax" by American writer Donald Westlake. The movie about Man-su, a family man who devises a plot to find a job after suddenly being laid off, has gained major attention since being invited to the competition section of the Venice International Film Festival of Italy in July.

The biggest change to this year's BIFF is the launch of a competition section for Asian cinema. Fourteen works have been invited to the category, with the inaugural Busan Awards to recognize Best Film, Best Director, Special Jury Prize, Best Actor and Artistic Contribution.

The opening and closing ceremonies will also shift from a joint hosting team of one male and one female to single emcees for each event, with actor Lee Byung-hun to handle the opener and actor-model Claudia Kim the closer. The winners of the Busan Awards will be announced at the closing ceremony.

Italian director Marco Bellocchio will appear at a program honoring his work at the Busan International Film Festival (Sept. 17-26).

Globally acclaimed filmmakers and actors will also attend. The appearance of Italian director Marco Bellocchio, 85, will be his first at a cinematic festival in Asia.

Juliette Binoche, a French actor with accolades from the world's top three film festivals -- Cannes, Venice and Berlin -- will visit the port city for the first time in 15 years. Also invited are American director Sean Baker, who has won numerous global honors like the Cannes Palme d'Or and the Oscars, and documentary filmmakers Gianfranco Rosi (U.S.) and Sergei Loznitsa (Ukraine).

"One of our goals this year is overcoming the crisis in Korean cinema and taking another huge leap. To this end, we invited a variety of domestic films, and people in the industry have shown much eagerness to attend," BIFF Director Jung Hanseok said. "We're immensely proud that our monumental foreign lineup is the best and largest in the festival's history."

xuaiy@korea.kr