Busan Film Festival To Open With ‘Because I Hate Korea’; Chow Yun-Fat Named As Asian Filmmaker Of The Year
05.09.2023 - 08:53
/ deadline.com
Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 4-13) has unveiled its full line-up, including opening and closing films, and announced that Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat has been named as Asian Filmmaker of the Year.
Chow will be feted through the screening of some of his most iconic films, including Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow, as well as recent release Once More Chance, directed Anthony Pun.
In addition to Chow, international guests expected at the festival include Luc Besson, Japanese filmmakers Hirokazu Kore-eda and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Korean-American filmmakers Celine Song and Lee Isaac Chung, and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Jang Kun-jae’s Because I Hate Korea, adapted from the popular novel by Chang Kang-myoung, and close with Chinese filmmaker Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, starring Andy Lau, which is receiving its world premiere in Toronto.
Gala screenings include Kore-eda’s Monster, Han Shuai’s Green Night, starring Fan, and Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast.
As previously announced, the festival has a Special Program focusing on Indonesian cinema and also has a section of Korean Diaspora cinema, screening titles including Chung’s Minari and Song’s Past Lives.
Announcing the line-up, acting BIFF director Nam Dong-chul said the festival had put aside its recent internal management struggles and is now focused on delivering one of its strongest ever editions.
“The difficult times are not behind us, but hard work has made this year’s festival better than ever,” he said in an online press conference. However, he added that the turmoil had scared away some sponsors and the festival had been forced to reduce its budget