Iranian director Majid Majidi on Oct. 15 gives his acceptance speech after winning the Busan Award for Best Film at the closing ceremony of this year's Busan International Film Festival at Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae-gu District.

By Charles Audouin

Photos = Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)

This year's Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) came to a close on Oct. 15 after keeping screens buzzing with excitement for 10 days.

Last month, the event received an upgrade to "A-list" status by the Belgium-based FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations).

At the closing ceremony at Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae-gu District, "Midday Meal" by Iranian director Majid Majidi earned the event's top honor, the Busan Award for Best Film. Following a rule change by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of the U.S., the winner of this honor automatically qualifies for submission to the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

The jury said "Midday Meal," which was the unanimous pick for the honor, confronts the human conscience at the intersection of the basic need for survival and the right to education, adding that Majidi's signature direction of being warm yet uncompromising stood out.

 
"I'm truly pleased to receive this honor in my first attendance at this film festival," Majidi said. "I dedicate this award to all the brave Iranian heroes who even now stand up to and resist oppression."

Making his debut in 1992 with the feature film "Baduk," which was invited to the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, he later became the first Iranian to earn the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film (now Best International Feature Film) for "Children of Heaven" (1997).

His films primarily explore human compassion and spiritual redemption that blossom amid poverty and adversity as seen through the eyes of children.

"Children are a country's future and greatest asset," he said in an interview. "I find it incredibly important to show the challenges they face so that they can look forward to a better future."

The Special Jury Prize went to "Ibuku" by Indonesian director Eddy Cahyono and Best Director to Lee Yun Chan from Taiwan for "To Be Ordinary." The award for Best Actor was shared by Zhou Xun (China) for "The First Taste of Loneliness" and Kashun Himeno (Japan) for "Satoko Always."

Thirteen Asian films were invited to the Competition section, which was launched last year. Chinese director Zhang Yimou served as jury president and led the seven-member panel: director Bi Gan (China), actor Samal Yeslyamova (Kazakhstan), director Kei Ishikawa (Japan), director July Jung (Korea), producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc (Vietnam) and actor Choi Hee-seo (Korea).

Winners of the Busan Awards at this year's Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 15 pose with their trophies after the closing ceremony at Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae-gu District. From left are sound designer Li Danfeng (Artistic Contribution), director Eddie Cahyono (Jury Special Prize), Zhou Xun (Best Actor), director Majid Majidi (Best Film), Kashun Himeno (Best Actor) and Lee Yun Chan (Best Director).

This year's BIFF set records in artistic achievement and box office success. At a wrap-up news conference at Busan Cinema Center, the organizing committee said the number of attendees broke 200,000 for the first time since 2015 with 200,043.

Including the 76,984 who went to sideline events, the number of participants rose to 277,027, up 40,000 from last year.

The committee attributed the increase to adjustments in operational strategy, such as moving the opening date one day earlier and expanding the daily schedule from four to five screenings per theater from Thursday through Sunday. This year's festival featured 246 invited films from 59 countries.

"If we achieved one thing this year, it's that we definitely found a connection with our audience," BIFF Director Jung Hanseok said. "The door has opened for us to enter a new golden age, and this will mark the starting point of a BIFF renaissance."

caudouin@korea.kr