Busan Film Festival Practically Abandons Normal Operation... Uncertainty Over Whether It Will Be Held

"COVID-19 Situation Rapidly Changes from Mid-August... Chuseok Variable Also Causes 2-Week Delay"
Outdoor Events Such as Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Red Carpet, Stage Greetings, Open Talks Canceled
Each Invited Film Screened Once "Strictly Following COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Busan International Film Festival could not escape the fear of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The schedule has been postponed by two weeks to focus solely on film screenings. If social distancing level 2 continues, even this will be canceled.

On the 14th, Lee Yong-gwan, chairman of the Busan International Film Festival, said at an online press conference, "Since May, we have been preparing for a normal event in accordance with social distancing level 1, but the situation changed rapidly from mid-August," adding, "Considering the variable of Chuseok as well, we have decided to postpone the festival schedule by two weeks to October 21?30."

The festival organizers have effectively given up on holding a normal event. Outdoor events that attract large crowds, such as opening and closing ceremonies, red carpet events, stage greetings, and open talks, will not be held. Overseas guests will not be invited, and receptions and parties arranged for exchanges among filmmakers have also been canceled. However, the Asia Contents & Film Market, Asia Project Market, Asia Contents Awards, and Asia Film Awards will be held online.

Ticket sales will also be limited to online only. Screenings will take place in five screens at the Busan Cinema Center, with each film shown only once. If social distancing level 2 is applied, all screenings may be canceled. This is because indoor theaters are limited to fewer than 50 people, and outdoor screening venues to fewer than 100. In this case, even if all seats are sold out, the audience will be about 10,000 people, which is about one-twentieth of the usual number.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Lee said, "This is not what we want. If the COVID-19 situation worsens from now, we will have no choice but to cancel the festival." He added, "We hope to get through Chuseok well and that the social distancing level will ease, creating more opportunities," and said, "We will make the final decision on whether to hold the festival in mid-next month when ticket sales begin."

This year’s festival invited 192 films from 68 countries, about 100 fewer than last year’s approximately 300 films. The opening film is "Septet: The Story of Hong Kong," an omnibus directed by seven Hong Kong directors including Hung Kam-bo (Hong Jinbao), Ann Hui (Hean Hua), Tsui Hark (Seo Geuk), and Johnny To (Du Gi-bong). It is a loving tribute to Hong Kong. The closing film is the animation "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish" directed by Gotaro Tamura. Based on the 2003 film of the same name by director Isshin Inudo, it presents a hopeful fantasy world.

Nam Dong-cheol, the chief programmer, said, "Considering the COVID-19 environment, this is quite a large number of films," adding, "We have invited many master directors and will introduce hot topics from various film festivals." Representative examples include films selected for the Cannes Film Festival that could not be publicly screened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Among 56 films, 23 will be screened, including Naomi Kawase’s "True Mothers," Wong Kar-wai’s restored version of "In the Mood for Love," Viggo Mortensen’s "Falling," and Disney’s animation "Soul." "Minari," which won the Jury Prize and Audience Award at the last Sundance Film Festival, is also on the list. Programmer Nam said, "We will strictly adhere to COVID-19 prevention guidelines while conducting film screenings."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.