Busan Closes 31st Edition With Record Crowds, a New Asian Producers
Summary
Screenings topped 200,000 admissions for the first time since 2015, while the festival handled a backlash that kept one film's director and cast away.
"The 31st Busan International Film Festival closes on October 15 after a ten-day run that began October 6, with organizers reporting total attendance of 277,027, according to Edaily. Theater attendance reached 200,043, the first time in ten years that screening admissions alone topped 200,000. Total attendance rose by roughly 40,000 over last year's 30th-anniversary edition. The Korea Herald reported that organizers credited a reshuffled schedule, opening on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday and adding an extra daily screening slot from Thursday to Sunday.
The official selection comprised 246 films from 59 countries, including 94 world premieres and 10 international premieres, across 8 theaters and 31 screens. It was the first edition held since FIAPF designated Busan an A-list festival. The 13-film competition was judged by a seven-member jury led by Zhang Yimou, which was set to present awards in five categories at the closing ceremony, with the best film screening as the closing film.
The festival also absorbed a political controversy. Hur Jin-ho's The Assassin(s), a thriller about the 1974 shooting that killed first lady Yuk Young-soo, had been set for a free public screening on the festival's eve and an opening-night red carpet. After conservative politicians and right-leaning online communities accused it of promoting a conspiracy theory about the shooting, the production company announced that the director and cast would skip the festival, citing safety concerns, according to The Korea Herald. Festival director Jung Han-seok said an actor's safety had been threatened. ""We didn't want anything said off the cuff at an official event to put someone at risk or end up as political fodder,"" he said. Korean film guilds had earlier called for debate on the film without targeting its filmmakers, The Korea Times reported.
On the industry side, the 21st Asia Content & Film Market drew 30,484 visitors and 1,266 companies from 58 countries over four days, with Thailand as its first Guest of Honor. A new Investor Summit connected international investment firms with production and distribution companies. On October 12, South Korea's Solare Partners and Japan's Questree signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a 100 billion won (about $74 million) Korea-Japan joint content fund. Producer groups from Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong also formed the Asian Producers Alliance, led by the Korean Film Producers Association and the Indonesian Producers Association."
