Busan drew its biggest film audience since 2015, but the festival was overshadowed by a row over Korean thriller The Assassin(s) and Majid Majidi’s war speech at the closing ceremony.
01Summary
- 01The 31st Busan International Film Festival ran from 6 to 15 October and recorded 200,043 screening admissions, its highest figure since 2015.
- 02Total attendance, including talks, outdoor events and side programmes, reached 277,027, about 40,000 more than the 30th edition last year.
- 03The Asian Contents & Film Market at BEXCO ran from 10 to 13 October and drew 30,484 visitors, with registrations up 4.3% to 3,158 participants from 1,266 companies in 58 countries.
- 04Hur Jin-ho’s The Assassin(s) sparked controversy over its depiction of the 1974 shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo, leading BIFF to cancel an event for star Lee Min-ho and the production company to pull cast and crew from festival appearances.
- 05Majid Majidi’s Midday Meal won the Busan Award for best film, and Majidi used his acceptance speech to condemn a US military strike in Iran and dedicate the prize to the people of Iran.
02Why it matters
The figures show Busan remains a major draw for Asian cinema, while the political row underlines how film festivals can become flashpoints over history, free expression and national politics.
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